The Great Naruto Adventure!
by PandaShark
Summary: What happens when two girls from our world suddenly end up in the Naruto world? Havoc, that's what! Join Cathy and Jenna in their adventures with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Gaara! Characters are not based on real people. NaruXOC GaaxOC SasuXOC Enjoy!
1. Where are we?

_Stories begin in many different ways. Some start with beginnings, others with ends, and a very few start in the middle of another story. This one starts with the end of a school day, the beginning of the weekend, and smack dab in the middle of an anime series. _

Cathy sighed. "It's been a long day." Her friend Jenna looked slightly puzzled at her best bud's weariness.

'It wasn't that bad."

"It was if you had three tests, two hours of Latin, and an exploding lunch!"

Jenna chuckled. "Yeah, that was funny. But I really enjoyed my day."

Cathy sighed again. "How did I know you were going to say that?"

"Because I always do?"

"That was a rhetorical question, Jenna. You don't have to have an answer for every question." Cathy reached into her locker for her backpack and bus fare. Expecting the plain khaki insides of her locker, she is shocked to find a swirling vortex of purple-black energy.

"JennaaaAaaaa…!"

"Cathy, hold on!" Jenna grabs her rapidly disappearing friend's legs and begins a desperate tug-of-war with whatever is on the other side of the portal.

"Ow, ow, ow, crap, ow!" Jenna is slammed into the lockers and pulls back, only to hit the cold metal again…and again. She loses her footing and slides across the tile floor and into the portal.

"Holy Crap!"

------------------------------

They land in an empty hallway with some rather ugly floral wallpaper. Cathy sits up briefly until Jenna lands on her.

"Hey look." Jenna points at a metallic glint from the top of the dog pile. Cathy frees herself and holds up a shiny key with the number 202 carved into it.

"It looks like a hotel room number; maybe if we go down this way…" Jenna starts walking down the tasteless hall. Cathy stands to follow her and falls to one knee, gasping from a sudden pain in her ankle.

_Aw, man. I must have sprained it when Jenna fell on me._ Cathy touched her ankle gingerly to inspect the damage and was surprised to see a blue aura engulf her ankle, removing any pain. Jenna, oblivious to it all, keeps walking. Cathy sprints to catch up.

They pass several locked doors before Room 202 appears. The door opens without a sound to reveal a stark room with two beds pushed against opposite walls. The only remarkable feature is the far wall which was covered by a six foot wide mirror that reached from the ceiling to the floor.

"What is all of this stuff?" Jenna examines the organized variety of weapons and clothing placed on the beds. They are like nothing she has ever seen and the weapons feel ominously cold in her hands. Cathy looks into the mirror and watches their reflections for a second.

They are wearing their school's uniform: a plaid below the knee skirt, a dark blue vest, and gym shoes, which are against school regulations. Cathy has summer sky blue eyes while Jenna's are a dark chocolate brown. They both have blonde hair; Cathy's is streaked with light brown, Jenna's is evenly mixed with red. Cathy's hair is always slightly messy, but she prefers this to her friend's unruly mop. Jenna's hair has its own vicious personality, wild and untamed, and on days with high humidity and wind, will attack anyone who stands too close to its master.

"Naruto, don't touch that." A voice breaks the eerie silence of the room.

"Jenna, was that you?"

Jenna frowns. "Nope. I haven't said anything."

Cathy peers closely at the mirror. "It came from behind here."

"A one way mirror!"

"A what?"

"It looks like a mirror on our side but it's a window on the other. It means that there are people watching us."

"Well, let's find out who!" Cathy draws back her fist.


	2. Let the Battles Begin!

"No, Cathy! You'll hurt…"

The glass shatters as Cathy breaks it, leaving a gaping hole in the wall.

"…yourself." Jenna opens her eyes to see a pink haired girl scolding a yellow haired boy. She recognized him from one of the pictures Cathy had taped inside her locker. _What was his name?_

"Naruto, look what you've done." The pink girl slaps Naruto on the back of the head. _Ah, that was his name._

"But I didn't do anything!" he protested.

_I better make the first move._ "Hi, I'm Jenna. And you are?" Jenna held out her hand.

"I'm Sakura." The girl shook Jenna's hand. Naruto looks intently at Cathy who hasn't moved an inch since she broke the mirror.

"What's wrong with her?" He takes a step closer to Cathy's blank face.

Suddenly, Cathy goes from stunned to ecstatic. "Naruto! It's you. It's really you!" She bluntly hugs him close to her.

"Help me," Naruto gasps weakly.

Jenna turns back to Sakura. "I know I'm not dreaming, so…?"

"…where are you?" Sakura finished. Jenna nods. Cathy is still hugging Naruto happily. "You two are candidates for our teams. We were watching you to see if you could handle the stress of coming here…"

Jenna holds up her hand. "Hold on a sec." She leans over and pries Naruto out of Cathy's arms.

"Jenna!" Cathy complains.

"You were choking him!" Jenna retorts. She nods at Sakura who continues what she was saying.

"You two passed! The teams will let you know where you belong. We'll let you get changed now." She drags Naruto out of the room by his collar.

The moment they are out of sight, Jenna whips around, making her hair fly and scaring her friend. "Cathy, I need you to tell me everything you know about this place." Cathy starts talking, but it turns into blah-blah-blahs punctuated with the word 'Naruto'. Jenna thinks, _Should I start snoring now?_

Cathy and Jenna are escorted to a large stone room by two ninjas wearing what seems to be a pair of white hockey masks. A scene from a horror movie flashes briefly through Cathy's mind. The room resembles the inside of the Coliseum, the ancient gladiatorial arena. Here there are no blood crazed crowds, screaming for the death of slaves, just the silent, unmoving teams. Their silence is louder than any sound a Roman audience could make; it practically echoes off the walls. They stop in front of the small group of people. Jenna speaks to Cathy out of the corner of her mouth.

"Cathy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're the Naruto expert. What do these people want?"

"Maybe we have to take the chuning exam."

Jenna goes whiter than normal, staring at Cathy in fear. "Do you realize what that means?"

"We are going to have to fight each other." Cathy looks over at her anxious friend and is hurt by the fearful expression on her face. Jenna bows her head in shame.

"I'm not afraid of you, Cathy. Just your strength. No human alive could have broken that glass with a single punch. And," Jenna swallows hard, "I can't even defend myself."

"But you have mad fighting skillz!" Cathy attempts to cheer her friend. However, Jenna only shakes her head.

"In self defense, not actual combat."

As they stare at the people above them, the duo are struck by the sheer _loneliness_ of the coliseum. Only the first row is occupied. Jenna feels absolute despair; even Cathy's constant bravado fades for a second. Under pressure and the threat of death from the hand of her friend, Jenna starts muttering. "A, ae, ae, am, a, ae, arum, is, as, is…"Cathy alone hears what she says and groans. _Oh, no. Jenna must be really nervous. _She had a habit of reciting Latin noun endings, phrases, and, in times of dire need, prayers.

Anko stands up. "Let the choosing begin. Leaf and Sand teams, choose your champion."

Sasuke steps in front of Cathy while Kankuro steps in front of Jenna. Anko continues, "The rules are simple. If the champions win, you join their team. If you win you may choose your team."

"Where are the other teams?" Cathy asks.

"The top two teams were chosen for this honor." Anko replies.

At this point, Jenna has been pushed past worried into frantic by the idea of facing a real ninja with her limited fighting abilities and starts babbling the Ave Maria. Everyone stares at the crazy girl.


	3. Teams and a Test

Kankuro shakes his head, goes for a weapon, and a rock from the ceiling hits him in the noggin. Jenna, needless to say, is overjoyed.

"God answered my prayer! I beat him!"

Anko gives a snort of disgust. "No, you didn't. The _ceiling_ beat him. Sand, choose a new champion." A boy with red hair dressed in black with a gourd on his back jumps down from his seat.

Jenna leans over and whispers to Cathy, "Who is this guy?"

"That's Gaara. He's the best Sand village ninja." Cathy gulps in fear for her friend.

Jenna seems to be more outraged than afraid. "Then why wasn't he the champion?"

"Probably didn't want to waste his chakra or skills on you. He barely ever uses his energy for people like us."

"I feel _so _appreciated." Jenna's eyes narrow in her determined look, the one she wears for every competition. She glares at the ceiling and raises an eyebrow.

"Your bad luck is our gain." Gaara's voice is deeper and rougher than Naruto's, like he doesn't use it a lot. What might be a smile plays over his face.

Jenna pulls out one of the unfamiliar weapons, not knowing that she's holding it wrong. "Well, then. Let's see what you've got Raccoon Boy." The would-be smile dies on his lips, replaced by a look of pure hatred. Sand comes streaming out of the gourd on his back and moves quickly towards Jenna. She dodges it and starts running. Gaara's sand chases after her.

_It's like watching Pac Man avoid a ghost,_ Cathy thinks as her eyes follows her sprinting friend around the arena.

Gaara's sand retreats. He closes his eyes in thought, trying to come up with a way for his sand to catch his opponent unaware. A rock comes whistling towards him and smacks him in the head.

"Yes!" Jenna throws her hands up in joy. She doesn't see the sand clone until it's too late. Cathy doesn't even have time to warn her as it whacks her over the head.

"Sand Team wins," Anko declares as medics drag Jenna out of the arena. One of them reassures Cathy that her buddy will be fine.

"The next match starts now." Anko sits down, hoping this match will be better than the last one.

Sasuke pulls out a kunai and smirks. "I heard you've got super strength. You just might be a challenge. Your friend sure wasn't." Cathy covers the distance between them in two big steps.

"I choose my own fate." With that she flicks the kunai into a thousand sharp shards. Sasuke hops back and whips shruiken at her. Cathy stomps her foot on the ground, creating a mini earthquake that knocks Sasuke off balance and a sheild from the shuriken. He steadies himself and goes for more weapons as Cathy rushes him. Her fist slams him into the stone wall, sending spider-web cracks through it. Sasuke collapses.

"You may choose your team." Anko thinks, _And I thought this was going to take forever._

Slouched back in his seat, Gaara grins faintly. _Wonderful. Two new members. She'll follow her friend to our team._

"I pick Leaf Team," Cathy declares happily.

Simultaneously, a single thought passed through everyone's heads, with a few variations: _ooookay, that's weird._

_Good old Cathy. Means every word she says. _Jenna smiled widely attheir shock and almost laughed in glee. _Ha, ha! That Gaara guy looks pretty upset. Probably 'cause he's stuck with crappy me!_

The masked ninja beside taps her on the shoulder and leads Jenna into a corridor much like the one she first arrived in, only with more tasteful wallpaper. Cathy is already there with the rest of her new team. Jenna's team members are ignoring her. Gaara seems to be trying to persuade them about something.

Anko gestures to the groups and they follow her down the hall. Cathy and Jenna lag behind. Cathy waves Jenna over. "Wow! Those medic ninjas work fast!"

"Yeah. I caught the end of your match! Cathy, who are these people and what do they want with us?"

Cathy begins with comprehensible words but slowly degenerates into blah-blah-blahs. Jenna tries to listen intently. A silver haired ninja with a mask obscuring all but his right eye races out of the arena. _I don't want to be late for the next challenge! I almost missed the last one. _He skids to a halt when he sees Cathy talking and Jenna nodding. _Hey, those are the contestants. I wonder why one is so good and the other is so… BAD. Sasuke's a tough opponent; the blond girl must be a really strong fighter. Gaara's no walk in the park but that match was __embarrassing__. Something's not right with the bushy haired one…why would the Sand Team pick her?_

"Hi Kakashi sensei!"

"Ahh! Naruto, don't sneak up on people like that!" Kakashi turns around to find that the girls have walked on to the next room. Anko and the teams are waiting for them in a medium size school room. The left wall is lined with tiered desks

"It's time for the IQ test."

"What?!" Cathy protests. "You never said anything about a test!"

"Don't worry," Jenna whispers out of the corner of her mouth. "Just do what we do when you forget to study."

"Are you sure? There was the test episode and…"

"I know." Jenna cuts Cathy's anxious argument off. "You told me. But I bet that they've never seen _our_ methods."

And so begins the test. Their new team members fill the seats around the girls to stop any form of cheating. Cathy bites her pencil from time to time, a normal nervous habit. Temari, Kankuro, and Sakura focus in on Jenna when she shows no signs of panic. Occasionally, on a particular problem that deals with a code or requires a detailed answer, she twirls her pencil in elaborate patterns and seemingly impossible ways. Cathy's eyes drift when she does this, but only for a few seconds, and she looks at the pencil, not at her friend's paper.

"Time's up." Anko's voice breaks the tense silence that sits in the room. "Hand in your papers."


	4. The Sand and the Girl

"Time's up." Anko's voice breaks the tense silence that sits in the room. "Hand in your papers." She flips through the answer packet and grades their tests in a few minutes that feel like an eternity. "You both pass." She declares blandly.

"Wahoo," shouts Cathy. Jenna grins wildly. A shadow falls across her face turning her expression of joy into something much more sinister. Gaara blinks and the shadow is gone, replaced by Jenna's rejoicing smile.

Anko hands the scores to Sasuke and Gaara. Sasuke half smiles; Gaara frowns. _Only slightly above average. The rest of the team is not going to be happy about this, especially after all the money we spent on that probe,_ Gaara thinks.

Anko waves a hand at the teams. "You're dismissed. Show the recruits to their new homes."

Leaving the ninja academy, Cathy is surrounded by lush forests. She bends backwards to see the tops of the trees but the sunlight coming through the branches blinds her and she has to look down. Sasuke walks up to her and jerks his head in the direction of their quarters. She follows him down the dirt path that gradually come to a road better traveled and paved. After several minutes, he says to her, "You may have gotten a little above average score on the test but you're a good fighter."

Thrown off by this sudden and unusual topic, Cathy responds, "Uh, thanks?"

Sasuke laughs. "Gaara's got a hard time of it. Your friend can't do anything. You'd think she'd at least be smart."

"But she is!" Cathy defends her friend with the truth.

"She didn't do much better than you on the IQ test."

_That's impossible! Jenna is a perfectionist. She'd never let herself do an __average__ job on anything. Maybe that test was harder than I thought? But the answers she gave me were correct. _Cathy furiously ponders this enigma of a question. _I'll ask her next time I see her._ And with that she pushes the problem to the back of her mind where it is forgotten as soon as she sees her roommate Naruto.

Jenna trips over another root. Gaara keeps walking, letting her stumble along the convoluted path he chose. They've been on the same path for over an hour now but Gaara shows no signs of stopping soon. Nor has he looked back at her. The forest is getting darker and the trees are starting to look like they came out of a fairy tale at its most hopeless part. "Hey."

Gaara slowly turns to look at the girl. "Why are you following me?"

"Following you back to wherever you're staying."

"I told you to go with Kankuro and Temari."

"No, you didn't. You guys just came to a fork in the road and went in two different directions."

Gaara stares at her. He speaks just as the silence is getting awkward. "Why didn't you say something?"

"I thought you were ignoring me." Jenna stood waiting for an answer.

Gaara turns around and starts walking again. "Are you coming? It'll be getting dark soon. You won't be able to see the path."

Jenna looks down at the barely recognizable trail. "That is if I knew where it was." Gaara glances back at her with an expression on his face that Jenna doesn't like very much: pity. Fury enflames within her. _How __**dare**__ you pity me?! I'll be the winner in the end. You have no idea what game you're playing and whom you are playing with, raccoon boy. _

Gaara takes a left and they are out of the forest, in an open glade. "We're close now; won't be much longer."

Jenna looks out at the sun sinking below the horizon, dragging all the color in the world down with it. _Thank you, Cathy. You've given me a very important tool in the game we are now pawns in: insight into these people's lives and thoughts. For once T.V. has actually helped me. I will win and we will get home in one piece, Cathy. I promise you that. I know they don't really care about us…_ She thought about Gaara, how he hadn't noticed her, and how strange pity looked on his face, like he wasn't used to feeling it. The sun vanishes beneath the horizon and the bright orange and hot pink of the sky fade to deep blues and blackish-purples._…but do you?_


	5. Moment on the Roof

"Bunk beds!" Jenna grins when she sees this little bit of home (she has bunk beds in her room). "I call top bunk!"

"This is my bed. You get the bottom." Gaara's head appears over the side of the top bunk. Jenna scowls.

The girl with multiple pigtails comes over, _Temari_,Jenna recalls, and fixes an eye on Gaara. "You could at least let her have it."

"Yeah," Kankuro cuts in. "It's not like you ever use it," he mumbles under his breath. Gaara narrows his eyes and sneaks a quick glance at Jenna who pretends that she didn't hear anything.

"Lights out!" calls the hotel manager. "That includes you hooligan ninjas!" Jenna is pretty sure that every ninja within ear shot has just rolled their eyes. All of her roommates did.

"We hear ya," Kankuro shouts back. In reply, the manager shuts off the lights.

Temari's voice pierces the darkness. "I guess he meant it tonight." Jenna sighs and glares at where she thinks Gaara is (it's too dark to see properly). She kicks off her gym shoes, pulls off her school vest, and slips under the bottom bunk's covers. Kankuro starts to snore and Temari buries her head under a pillow. Jenna tosses and turns, trying to find a comfortable position. She tries counting sheep too. After Sheep #145, Jenna gives up.

_Maybe some fresh air will help me sleep._ Jenna sticks her head out the window, inhales deeply, and gags. She looks down at the open dumpster below her. _I just can't win, can I? _Jenna glares at the sky as though it is responsible for all her troubles and sees a dark silhouette against the half full moon. It looks human but the contour of its back is odd.

Jenna grabs the gutter above her head and hauls herself up onto the roof of the hotel. She attempts to stand but can't balance on the slanted tiles in her socks. _Hmm, maybe if I grip under the tiles…_ Using this method, Jenna quietly makes her way across the hotel's roof so she can study the mysteriously familiar form.

Suddenly, it turns its head, letting moonlight fall across its face. _It's Gaara._ For a second he looks like an otherworldly wraith, like a shadow come to life in the Moon's silver glow. There's an odd expression on his face, a tenderness tempered with awe. Then the I-hate-everyone glare returns to his face and he's as solid as he ever was.

"What do you want?" Jenna tried to stand before his accusing question and almost slips off of her precarious perch. Gaara makes no move to help her and she steadies herself.

"I couldn't sleep. What about you?" Jenna notices that Gaara isn't wearing pajamas, something you would expect of a person who snuck out for some fresh air. _After all, who changes their clothes to go outside in the middle of the night? Very improbable._

"I guess you could say the same for me." Gaara turned his face away from her and went back to staring at whatever he was staring at before. A silent second or two passes and Jenna goes to leave. She grip-crawls a few feet to a more level area of roof and stands. Jenna takes a step forward and… the tile beneath her foot gives way, sending her sliding down the ski jump-like roof. Jenna scrambles for a hold but the roof is covered in frozen dew. She shuts her eyes tight in fear and opens them in surprise when she slides into something. She looks at the grainy crescent moon behind her. _Sand?_

"Careful." Jenna's head whips around to find Gaara crouched in front of her. "There's dew." She studies his emotionless face for some preface to this generous act. There is none.

"Thanks. I owe you one." Jenna picks her way back across the roof without another incident and climbs into bed. Questions and queries rush through her head but all lead back to one base: Why?

Gaara returns to his perch. _What an odd person. She mocks and taunts me, only to turn around and trust me. But why? You think she would at least have gone with Temari, another girl! _

Another voice from deep inside him spoke._** She surprised us. Twice, no less!**_

_Yeah, she's so quiet._

_**Like a cat?**_

_Yes, like a cat_, Gaara agreed. When it grew too cold to be outside, he crept quietly inside to find Jenna fast asleep… in the top bunk bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and a sly grin crossed her face. _It's like she knows I'm watching._ Gaara smiled and felt a strange flame flicker to life inside his chest.

Cathy sighed in boredom. _When are they going to show up?_ She got up and walked over to the obstacle course's climbing wall. She kicked it; the logs it was made of tumbled to the ground in splinters. _Okay, note to self: be more careful when hitting stuff._ Cathy wanders over to the blue-green lake at the edge of the training grounds. _I wonder…_ She takes a tentative step onto the still and algae filled water. It holds her weight. Cathy takes a deep breath and her other foot leaves the shore. She expects the slimy cold of the water but feels perfectly dry. "Awesome!!!!!!!" She skips, hops, and even does a few flips, enjoying this new ability. _Let's try something else!_ Cathy summons all her will power and, pointing dramatically, orders the water to rise. The liquid does as it is bid. "Sweet!"

"Cathy, how did you do that!?" Jenna comes running down the dirt path looking a lot like Temari. Cathy can't quite place her finger on it.

"I have no idea!" Cathy starts laughing as she realizes why her friend resembles her teammate so much. "I'd watch out for Temari if I were you!"

"Aw, she has three more outfits just like this one. She won't mind." Jenna waved the concern away regally, making Cathy double up with laughter. "Well I gotta go train with my team. I'll catch you later."


	6. Training, Unknown Abilities, and a Kiss?

"Cathy, how did you do that!?" Jenna comes running down the dirt path looking a lot like Temari. Cathy can't quite place her finger on it.

"I have no idea!" Cathy starts laughing as she realizes why her friend resembles her teammate so much. "I'd watch out for Temari if I were you!"

"Aw, she has three more outfits just like this one. She won't mind." Jenna waved the concern away regally, making Cathy double up with laughter. "Well I gotta go train with my team. I'll catch you later." Jenna goes to run down the path and hits a tree instead. "I'm okay, don't worry." She sprints away cursing.

"Hmph, glad we didn't get her." Cathy whirls around to see Sasuke standing behind her.

"Please, we'd be lucky to have her because she's smarter than Einstein and she's kind!" said Cathy with her hands on her hips, "Where're Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi?" Cathy looks in every direction for the rest of her team, making her dizzy.

"Sakura is no longer on our team. She was reassigned," Sasuke sighs, "And the others are late. As usual. Want to train until they get here?" Cathy's answer is a high kick to where Sasuke's head was: he's already ducked. Their sparring match takes them from one end of the training grounds to the other, from flying fists to kunais and shurikans. Eventually, the others show up.

"Hey, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto calls in greeting. He blinks once at Cathy and then recognizes her. "Ah, it's you!" Naruto comes within three inches of Cathy's face so that all she can see are his ocean blue eyes.

"Hmmm."

"W-what?" Cathy is a bit unnerved by how close Naruto is to her face.

Naruto deliberates a second before answering, "You've got really blue eyes."

Cathy is used to Jenna spouting odd facts but this is totally random. Still, she doesn't want to be rude. "Um, thanks?"

"Hello children!" Kakashi appears out of nowhere and accidentally shoves Naruto. Kakashi and Sasuke stare at Naruto and Cathy. "Oops."

Because of their proximity, Naruto falls into Cathy. They catch themselves but not before his lips press against Cathy's. After realizing what he had done he pulled back and blushed a deep red that permeates his entire visage. They stare at each other for a minute. Kakashi starts whistling and scooting away slowly.

The pair realizes who's to blame and they glare at their sensei. Thoroughly abashed, Kakashi tries an apology. "Uh, sorry?" Cathy takes control of the awkward situation by barking orders.

"LET'S JUST TRAIN ALREADY! EVERYONE STAND OVER THERE!" Scared out of their wits (an angry Cathy is truly terrifying), the guys obey, even Kakashi. "NOW I'LL GO WITH KAKASHI AND YOU TWO ARE PARTNERS! GOT IT?!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Training is not going well for Jenna. Kankuro is chucking shurikans at her and she's making herself look like an idiot dodging them. Temari glances at Gaara who shakes his head in empathetic shame.

Fed up with them, Jenna shouts, "I'd like to see you try this!"

Gaara shrugs-"Fine."- and clears the course with ease. Jenna responds with a very downhearted 'crap'. He ignores her saying, "Do it again." This time, Jenna clears the course without gaining a scratch, using a few of Gaara's moves.

An evil smile plays on Gaara's lips. _So you learn by watching, hmm? Then learn from this!_ He throws a handful of sand at her. Jenna blinks, puzzled, until it takes the form of a dagger, gallivanting her into a series of back flips. She ducks and flips out of the sand blade's reach. Gaara watches with some interest for a few minutes but soon becomes irritated with his new comrade.

Finally he yells, "Strike back!"

Jenna expends a small amount of her precious oxygen to answer him. "With what?!"

"You have shurikans and kunais. Use them!"

"Judging by…how fast…that sand is moving…they'll never reach you!" Jenna pants as the dagger comes at her faster and faster.

_So you can make split-second observations and decide on them. Good._ Gaara thinks.

Eventually, she throws a shurikan at him. The sand easily deflects it. Gaara sighs. "Well, it's a start."

Taking a deep breath, Jenna angrily retorts, "What?! I've been trying my hardest and working my butt off!"

Gaara shrugs. "Seeing as it's still attached to you, I'd say you're not working hard enough." _"It's not that bad either."_

On general principle, Jenna hates being tired, hot, and sweaty. She also hates being called incompetent. She also was embarrassed that he checked out her butt! So her explosion a nanosecond later is to be somewhat expected.

"I wish you would go calvus, Gaara!"

The effect of her words, however, was totally unexpected: Gaara's hair vanishes. Everyone shuts and reopens their eyes thinking that it is a trick of the light. It's not. Temari and Kankuro stare in horror at their brother. Temari tries to get his attention. "Um, Gaara…?"

He turns to her. "What?" He hasn't realized that he is completely bald.

"Your hair…"

"What about my--." He reaches up and touches his head. Instead of touching the soft fibers, his fingers pick up the slightly silky feeling of bare skin. Gaara's eyes widen. He races over to the lake and examines himself in the murky green water. The team hears a sharp intake of breath, followed by… "Ahhhhhh!"

Jenna bursts out laughing. The other ninjas stare at her with the full knowledge that what she was doing was suicidal. In a flash, Gaara is back and in Jenna's face. He lifts her up by her shoulders and starts shaking her. "What the hell did you do to me?!?" Jenna's laughter dies down, only to come back stronger than ever at the sight of Gaara's livid face. He sets her down when he realizes intimidation doesn't mix well with mirth. "Fix it," he demands when Jenna draws a breath.

She stares at the bald boy and the ninjas behind him. "Er, well, um…"

"Don't tell me you don't know how to fix this." Gaara's voice drops from fiery rage to an icy cold threat. There is murder in his eyes. Temari and Kankuro stifle their giggles.

"I do, I do! Just give me a second here. Okaaay…" _I have one shot at this or it's curtains for me._ "Aarag, suvlac og dluow uoy hsiw I." _Please God, let me have said it correctly_ _or he'll look like he was attacked by a lawn mower._

Luck, or Heaven, was on her side: Gaara's hair reappears. He runs a hand through it and sighs. His piercing eyes pin a backward-moving Jenna to her spot. "How did you do that?" He asks tentatively like she might do it again if he said the wrong words, but in such a way that no one could ever think he had lost control.

Jenna searches for an escape route, doesn't find one, and goes with the simplest answer. "I said the words backwards."

"No," he says slowly, "How did you make my hair vanish in the first place?"

"I just wished you would go bald."

"Calvus. You used 'calvus'."

"That's the Latin word for bald."

"What's Latin?"

Jenna studies Gaara's face for a hint of duplicity. _Nope, he's not joking. He's honestly never heard of Latin and is actually __**interested**__ in it. Wait a minute, Cathy told me this was a Japanese/English T.V. show so that means-_ "-everybody speaks English and Japanese!"

"Huh?" goes the Sand Team.

"Uh, nothing." Jenna lowers her arms and blushes.

_This is getting __**much **__more intriguing. Maybe the probe was correct, maybe the chakra it detected was really a kekkei genkai._ "Say something else in … Latin." Gaara instructs her.

Jenna closes her eyes in thought for a moment. They reopen with a mischievous sparkle. "Sabulo Gaara." The sand from the lake's shore begins to swirl and form a humanoid shape. The Sand ninjas' mouths drop as the sand takes on Gaara's form. The copy smiles and waves to the speechless original.

"That can't be me," Gaara mutters under his breath.

Unfortunately for him, Jenna has very good hearing. "You're right, he's too cheerful."

He turns his back on her. "Stop fooling around. Get rid of it." He and the rest of the Sand Team get back to training.

"Fine. Aarag olubas." The sandman collapses with sad eyes and the quiet _shush_ of loose sand. Jenna dejectedly follows her teammates.

Meanwhile…

A figure wrapped in shadows sits at an equally dark desk. Anko walks out of nowhere. "Has anything happened yet?" the figure rasps.

"Nothing but the usual. The teams went out training today. The Cathy girl seems to have an affinity for water," Anko states.

"And the other girl?"

Anko shifts uncomfortably. "The other girl doesn't seem to have any special abilities. In fact, she wouldn't even make a decent genin."

"Hmm, it isn't like the kazekage to choose an incompetent ninja."

"Um, that's where it gets sticky, your lordship." Anko takes a deep breath. "The Sand Team took out our spies. Apparently, even though the girl is worthless, the kazekage doesn't want us to know his plans for her. He doesn't leave the Sand village for nothing."

In her corner of gloom, the figure shakes her head. "Orochimaru has been a problem for far too long. Gaara would be wise to aid us in destroying him. Either way, we need to bring those two to their fullest potential quickly."

Anko gives her boss a grim half-smile. "If you don't mind, your lordship, I have an idea…"


	7. Reason and a Strategy

The Next Day, very early…

All the teams file into a classroom and sit down at the open desks. Some are yawning, others are drooling on the desks (to the disgust of the people next to them), and a few are snoring. Anko flips on the lights making the shinobi flinch after the outside gloom. _Well, that ought to wake them up._ Anko studies the ninjas in front of her. _At least they don't resemble zombies anymore._ "I have one thing to say." "Thank God!" Anko ignores whoever said that and continues. "Welcome back!" Balloons and confetti fall from the ceiling.

The shinobi respond with a dull 'Huh?'

"You are now entering the secondary training camp."

"What?!" Their reaction this time is a little more violent. Angry whispers break out and a few people shout protests like 'we already completed our training,' and 'what the?'

Anko ignores them. "And here is your instructor: Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi walks through the door with a cheerful "Why hello there."

Cathy glares at him. "Why are you so darn happy?"

She is joined by almost everyone else. Kakashi starts having second thoughts. _Maybe I bit off more than I can chew._

Jenna glances around at her new classmates and notices that Gaara looks tired and can barely keep his eyes open. Feeling sympathy for him, she holds out her steaming mug. "Here, have some of my tea." Gaara smiles wanly at her and takes the warm mug, wrapping his fingers around it. Cathy springs out of nowhere and knocks the cup out of his hands. Its boiling contents splash all over Gaara's lap, causing him to yelp in surprise and pain.

Cathy turns to the two.

"Oi, Gaara, if you know what's good for you you better not drink that. It's a sort of tea only satan would drink."

"Now, why would you say that, Cathy?" asked Jenna turning to her.

"Last time you gave me that awful drink I was so hyper I almost destroyed half of the art exhibit, that we went to for a feild trip, in second grade!" said Cathy annoyed that Jenna would even ask such a question when she obviously knew the answer.

"Ignore her. She's never been a morning person." Jenna says to him. "And how on earth am I supposed to remember something that happened ten years ago?!" she asks her friend.

"Well you remember everything else!"

Gaara watches them bicker and thinks, _what's wrong with these weirdos? And why won't they leave me alone?_

Kakashi sighs. _At least I'll have one student listening. _He surveys the crowd of grumpy ninjas, and goes into 'serious' mode. "The last camp was to teach you. This one will test your skills to the limit: both physically and mentally! And I will do that with…" he reaches behind his back ominously. The ninjas wait in anxious anticipation: Kakashi is very rarely serious and only in times of great danger or importance. "…this schedule!" Kakashi pulls out a ripped piece of paper covered with scribbled times and activities. The class's glares intensify with the intent to fry Kakashi when they figure out that he was pulling their legs. "We begin at five A.M. and end at ten. P.M.," declares Kakashi as cheerful as ever.

This statement rouses Naruto from his nap/coma. "What?! I gotta get up at five?" Kakashi considers his question.

"No, you have to be here at five so you'll probably have to wake up earlier."

Naruto groans as well as Cathy and most of the other ninjas. Gaara wipes the irritation off his face and sighs, resigned to his fate. "It'll be just like school!" Jenna comments to Cathy.

"Why are you happy about that?!?"

"Pax voboscum."

"Huh?" Cathy blinks, completely thrown off topic by Jenna's random interjection, and then continues to rage about the injustices of the schedule.

"Ah, well, it was worth a try." Jenna shrugs. Gaara rolls her word around in his head and it doesn't ring a bell. _It must be some of that Latin again. Could it be that only certain phrases work?_ He doesn't know that the girl sitting next to him is wondering the same thing.

"Now for a quick review of our history," Kakashi interrupts the enraged muttering with a teacher's firm voice. The shinobi settle down and a few take out paper for notes.

Two Hours Later…

Naruto is catching up on his lost sleep and is snoring while he does it; Cathy is staring at Naruto, doodling a picture of him, and taking the occasional note; Gaara is dutifully copying from the board and plotting how to use Jenna's new acquired abilities to help the team; and Jenna is compiling a list of Latin phrases and jotting down ideas on how to use them. Kakashi drones on, "…and that is the history of the hokages. On to more recent events, Orochimaru has yet again eluded our jonin." Jenna perks up. _Finally, something interesting._ Everyone else must have been lectured on this a thousand times because they keep doodling or snoring. Cathy in particular has an excellent sketch of Naruto by this time. Jenna is intrigued to see her response to the word 'Orochimaru': she violently snaps her pencil in half. "As you all know-- "And don't care!" A random person calls out.—"Orochimaru is one of the sanin and as such is very dangerous." _Bingo! A murderous uncatchable villain. We have the motive but what are the means?_ Jenna covertly glances at Cathy. _She must know something about this Orochimaru guy._

During their lunch break, Jenna slides onto a picnic bench next to Cathy. After some banal chatting, Jenna broaches the subject. "So who is this Orochimaru guy?" as Cathy fills her in, Jenna tries to eat a bowl of noodles, provided by the Ninja Academy cafeteria, with chopsticks. Noticing that she is holding them upside-down, Cathy pauses in her telling to help Jenna wield the unfamiliar utensils. Following this mini etiquette session, Jenna can messily eat with them. "Cathy?"

She elegantly slurps a noodle. "Yeah?"

"How old do you think Naruto and the rest of the ninjas are?"

Cathy thinks for a moment. "Fifteen, maybe sixteen. Why?"

"How old were they in the TV show?" Jenna doesn't answer her question.

"They were twelve and thirteen in the first part of the series, but in the second part they turned fifteen and sixteen. Why do you ask?"

Jenna sighs. "That's almost three years where anything could have happened," she mutters to herself. "Are you sure that their relationships are the same?"

Cathy nods. "Actually no, not really. Naruto doesn't think Sakura is cute anymore and for the life of me I can't figure out why, Sakura still sort of likes Sasuke…"

Jenna cuts in. "All the important ones anyway?"

"Yep," Cathy confirms. She sees her friend's pensive face and grows suspicious. "What are you thinking?"

Jenna glances around like someone is listening and says in a quiet rush, "We have no leverage here. We are 'disposable' in a sense. But if we make friends with the right people, no one will dare harm us!"

Cathy is shocked. "Are you saying that Naruto is going to hurt me?!"

"No, no, no!" Jenna quickly reassures her. "Naruto is the least likely to do so." She thinks of her team, running their images across her mind's eye. _Kankuro will probably want to get back at me for humiliating him and Temari wasn't happy about my 'borrowing' her clothes. And I seem to be in Gaara's debt. I can't bargain with someone if I'm not on the same playing field as they are._

"Why would they hurt us? We're their teammates. They fought for us!"

Jenna considers Cathy's excellent argument. "You have a point there. Our teams may like us but the other won't be as kind. Either way, we are outsiders. We need protection.

Cathy, convinced of her view, ignores Jenna's words. Out of the corner of her eye, Cathy spies a brightly colored poster with a muscular man lifting weights on it. A red arrow points around the corner.


	8. Jenna's Abilities

Cathy, convinced of her view, ignores Jenna's words. Out of the corner of her eye, Cathy spies a brightly colored poster with a muscular man lifting weights on it. A red arrow points around the corner. She heads in that direction and finds herself at the annual Strength competition. Cathy spies a table set up under a nearby tree. She races over and signs the participation list, just in time for the first event. Cathy takes a seat in the stands and waits for her turn.

"Will a Carl Soichiro please step forward," the proctor calls using a megaphone. Cathy's head jerks up; she had fallen asleep. She sprints to the platform yelling, "It's Cathy, damn it!" the spectators whisper among themselves when a young girl climbs next to the heavy weight champion.

"Aren't you a little small, Feathergirl?" the champion sneers.

"Bring it on, shorty!" Cathy retorts.

The champion flexes and picks up the heaviest weight. "Beat that," he looks over at Cathy but she's not there. He feels the platform lurch beneath feet as it rises about six feet into the air. Cathy's head peers at him from underneath it.

"Beat that," she quips. The judge hands her the bag of silver and watches dumbfounded as she skips away. At the table she proudly displays the silver with a smile brighter than the sun. Jenna is not impressed and instead points behind Cathy. Cathy follows her friend's gesture. A huge group of angry strong men led by the old champion are congregated at the picnic table next to theirs. They start whistling when Cathy looks at them and then go back to conspiring against her.

Cathy turns back to Jenna and, without missing a beat, says, "Sooo…what were you saying?"

Jenna chuckles. "The top two teams are Leaf and Sand. Your mission, basically, is to make friends with Sasuke. Naruto already likes you and Sakura isn't there anymore."

"What about you? Don't you and Sakura have the same status?"

Jenna nods. "The less your power, the more invisible you are. Invisible people know more and knowledge is true power."

"What? Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"Don't worry about me. I have the pride of the Sand team as my shield. If anyone picks on me, they'll come to my rescue. Plus Gaara scares everyone off." _At least, that's what I'm banking on._

"Okay, but I'll be nice to Sakura too." Cathy gives 'Sakura' a slightly sarcastic edge. Jenna ignores it.

"Good idea to cover all your bases." Jenna and Cathy simultaneously eye the silver. "Do you know a good place to go shopping?"

"Do I ever!"

They walk out of the mini-mall with their arms full. "I love these earrings! They are so cute." Cathy admires the way the sunlight sparkles off them in a store window. She looks at Jenna to ask her opinion. She can barely see Jenna's hair, aggravated by static electricity, above the stack of fabric she's carrying.

"Yes, they are cute," the talking mound of hairy cloth agrees.

"What are you going to do with all of that?"

Jenna can't see Cathy point but she gets the idea. "I can't raid Temari's closet forever. So I'm going to make my own clothes."

"What will you make first?"

"The first pair of jeans this world has ever seen. Hey Cathy, could you help me do something tomorrow?"

Later that night (way late)

Most of the teams are back at the hotel. Cathy's team and a few others are out at a movie. The Sand team is spending the night rather normally. Gaara and Kankuro are playing chess; Gaara seems to be winning. Temari is at the local Laundromat washing the clothes Jenna borrowed. The last member of the team is sitting on the top bunk bed, cutting fabric with a scissors and a fierce determination. She's sewing the last seam when the hotel manager shuts off the lights.

"Aw, not again," whines Kankuro. Gaara says nothing. Jenna doesn't complain either. Things are going according to plan for her. As soon as her teammates are asleep, Kankuro snoring and Temari with her head under her pillow, Jenna slips outside through the window next to her bed. The roof is easy to climb in her lucky gym shoes but she is cautious as she runs across it. _No sign of Gaara. He must be asleep with the others._ She shimmies down a gutter and takes the dirt path to the training grounds. Jenna adds the pattern on the soles of her shoes to the muddy path next to the marks left by a pair of sandals a few minutes older.

The training grounds are eerie at night. Moonlight outlines the equipment in ghostly detail and the lake is a shining sea of silver surrounded by gloomy timber giants. The hair on the back of Jenna's neck stands up. _Okay, we have beautiful scenery. Now where is the crazy ax murderer?_ Jenna gives herself a shake and gets back to business.

"Let's see if my theory is correct. Gladius Glacies." Jenna watches as the water vapor in the air condenses into a shimmering sword of ice. It appears fragile. Jenna bangs it against a tree as hard as she can; it doesn't shatter. She runs her thumb along its edge and pulls it away when a sharp pain tells her the sword is definitely sharp enough.

"Ventus Ferus." The air in the clearing begins to whirl faster and faster until even the tallest tree has to bend with its power. It dies down when Jenna reverses the Latin command. "Now for the hardest one. Pluvia Saxi." The ground trembles beneath her feet as huge chunks of earth rise and hang suspended in the air. Jenna points to the lake. The boulders move over the body of water. Jenna opens her clenched hand and the rocks drop into the water, creating a miniature tsunami. She goes to walk away and almost falls to the ground. _Must've used too much of that Chakra stuff._ A minute or two later, Jenna gets to her feet and slowly jogs home.

A shadow in the forest moves. Gaara steps from behind a tree, deactivating his sand shield. He looks down the path that Jenna took and thanks his lucky star that he had chosen to go that same way. _Otherwise, I might have missed the show._


	9. The Scroll and the Princess

The next day...

Cathy's watch reads 10:04. "Where is she? She asked me to be here and she's not even here herself."

Jenna jogs stiffly into view. "Okay, let's go."

Cathy takes in Jenna's new outfit. "You're going to have to make me a pair of jeans too. You do realize that? And why are you walking funny?"

"I stuck myself with one too many pins."

"Um, maybe you won't have to…"

"Don't worry about it. My aim in a mirror needs improvement is all."

"Well then, let's get going but first…" Cathy extracts a pair of white masks with animal faces on them and two black cloaks from a bag behind a bush. Jenna turns her mask with red stripes and a bird beak over in her hands.

"What is this?"

"An ANBU mask. They're the people that guard the Hokage's tower."

"Aren't they adults? Won't they notice two kids trying to pose as them?"

Cathy put on her blue striped cat ANBU mask as she proclaimed, "The cloaks will disguise us but I brought these just in case…"

Later that evening, at the change of the guard, the ANBU Guards reported to their senior officer. Everything was normal or so they thought. One of them asked the officer about another ANBU with a cat mask and blonde hair. Their senior asked what on earth was he talking about; the only blonde on the local force was on a mission. And that's when the alarms in their heads went off. But back to earlier that same day…

"I can't believe they bought it! By the way, where did you find platform shoes? It seems that everyone here wears sandals." Jenna lifts the hem of her cloak to reveal gold sequined shoes from the days of disco. Cathy is wearing an equally atrocious purple pair.

"Now here comes the hard part: finding the scrolls we need." Cathy groans. "The tower must have a thousand of them. How are we going to find just one?! Um, Jenna, what are you doing? No, wait, Jenna! Don't, you'll blow our cover!"

Jenna has taken off her disguise and is now walking up to the janitor's closet. She knocks timidly on the door. "Yup?" An older man in a grey jumpsuit opens it and stares in mild amazement at her.

"Um, my friend and I got separated from our tour group, sir, on our way to the bathroom and now we can't find them in all these corridors." Cathy's mouth drops when she hears Jenna's scared dumb-blonde tone of voice.

"Well, little lady, do you know the next stop?"

Jenna pretends to rack her brain. Her face brightens falsely but the custodian doesn't know that. "Outside the Hokage's office." Cathy is dumbfounded as he gives her the directions. With a grateful wave and a toothy smile, Jenna pulls a stunned Cathy around the corner.

"Where did you learn to lie like that?"

"Survival skill. Plus after being in the drama club for so long, you pick up some interesting tricks." The door to the Hokage's office is solid wood with signs carved into the door frame and a myriad of locks.

"How are we going to get in there? Those symbols keep anyone who wishes harm to the Hokage out and they also trigger the alarms."

Jenna digs in her pockets and finds a bobby pin. "We don't want to hurt the Hokage; we just want a scroll. Watch my back."

Cathy keeps a look-out while Jenna picks the locks. "Where did you learn to do that?" Cathy inquires when Jenna noiselessly opens the door.

"Again, survival skills."

The room is plainly furnished with a desk pushed against the far wall; file cabinets line the other walls. "If we split the work up, we'll locate Orochimaru's file faster." Jenna starts on the cabinets near the door while Cathy checks those near the desk. Cathy is concentrating so hard on her task that she doesn't see Jenna pick the lock on a certain cabinet and remove two scrolls.

"I found it!" Cathy whispers loudly holding her prize, triumphantly.

"Alright! Now let's get out of here." They leave the room as they found it. Jenna swiftly relocks the locks. The girls grin at each other with accomplishment and turn to leave when a real ANBU materializes in front of them.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

He raises his hands in apology. "Hey, hey, chill." The girls keep screaming at the top of their lungs. "The Hokage wants to see you." Jenna and Cathy scream even louder if possible. "Ah, whatever." The ANBU shakes his head and starts walking away from them.

They stop for a breath. "Maybe we should follow him?" Jenna proposes.

"Okay," Cathy agrees because it appears that they aren't busted. The two of them follow the ANBU to a boardroom. Naruto and Sasuke are sitting at the table. Gaara is standing near the door. A blonde woman, whom Jenna assumes is the Hokage, is at the head of the table with a sheaf of papers in her hands. She looks at Cathy and sees that her eyes aree filled with sparkles and stars. Tsunade was Cathy's idol.

"Oh, good. You're finally here. Now we can begin." Her voice is slightly rough like she's recovering from a cold. "You're all going on a mission. You will be the escort party of the Princess of Earth. She is on her way to her coronation."

"Alright!" Naruto cheers. Sasuke grins and Gaara…frowns? _I hate it when adults order me around like I'm not their equal even when we have the same rank. _

Cathy's thoughts are a bit happier: _A mission! A real mission with NARUTO!!!_

There is a delicate rap on the door. 'That must be her," Tsunade says. "Gaara, be a dear and get the door." He goes to open it, fuming, when a well dressed girl suddenly flings it open and slams him into the wall. Jenna winces in empathetic pain as she sees his hand spasm.

Cathy and the princess mentally circle each other like rival cats. The princess decides that the common girl isn't worth it. "Eeew. This is the trash that's protecting me?" Jenna watches Cathy's veins pop.

"I THINK WE SHOULD GO NOW, CATHY!" Jenna quickly hauls Cathy away before she can say anything that would get her in trouble.

"So what's YOUR name?" the princess smoothly and flirtatiously asks Naruto. Cathy drags a worried Jenna, that at the moment was desperately trying to stop her, across the floor.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm gonna be the next Hokage!" Naruto declares, completely sure of himself.

"Oh, really?" Sasuke aids Jenna in her dilemma and together they haul Cathy away from the path of the princess into her seat.

Cathy is staring various sharp things at the princess during their debriefing. Jenna is reviewing their raid on the Hokage's office in her head. _The scroll had everything we needed on Orochimaru. I know why they need us now. I hope Cathy doesn't kill the princess though... _

Gaara is berating himself for taking the mission in the first place. _Great, just great, I have to travel with these weirdos. Naruto would be okay if he ever stopped talking. Cathy's going to blow the mission by knocking off the princess and then we have Sasuke 'the Super'. I thought we were the only team going but I should have figured that the Leaf village wasn't going to pass up the money from an assignment like this. _

Jenna takes pity on the princess, sitting stiffly in her chair. _I should go talk to her, make her feel welcome._ She stands and offers her hand in a friendly gesture to the princess who stares at her like she materialized out of the wallpaper.

"I'm…"

"A lowly, insipid commoner with no sense of fashion. You hold yourself like you sat on a pincushion." _I thought I looked good in these jeans and so what if my aim with a pin is bad!?_ The princess doesn't stop there. Her gaze turns to the next in line Gaara. "What's with the ugly tattoo? Whoever let you do that to yourself must not have 'loved' you. And where are your eyebrows?" Gaara steps forward menacingly; an arm blocks his path. He glares at Jenna who shakes her head almost imperceptibly. Gaara narrows his eyes but steps back. Her Highness notices none of this wordless exchange, too busy criticizing Sasuke. "That hairdo has got to go. It looks like a cat coughed it up."

Unlike Gaara, Sasuke has no one to stop him but chance: Kakashi bursts in, late as usual, just as Sasuke opens his mouth to reply in kind to the princess's remarks. "Guess what?"

"You're our escort," they answer blandly.

"They told you, didn't they?"

The princess takes one look at him and asks, "Why is a pirate our escort?" Kakashi scowls. Tsunade, relived to have the spoiled royal off her hands, gives them directions to the dock a few towns over. The group starts walking, Naruto leading the way, chatting with the princess, Cathy trailing them angrily. The others are about ten paces behind them in case a fight breaks out. Gaara is silently fuming about having an escort; _I'm the kazekage for heaven's sake!_

He turns to see how his teammate is doing and is surprised to see a pensive look on Jenna's face. "What are you thinking?" he inquires, wondering what could be going on in her head.

"Various ways to kill the princess and make it look like an accident," Jenna answers almost dreamily. The realization of what she has said strikes Jenna a few seconds after the words leave her mouth and she glances at Kakashi, Sasuke, and Gaara's startled faces. "I said that out loud, didn't I?" she asks sheepishly.

Gaara shrugs. "So what do you have so far?" _Now this topic I like._

"You can't trust the quiet ones," Kakashi advises Sasuke.

The two Sand ninjas, if you can call Jenna that, alternate between each other, first Jenna, then Gaara: "Push her off a cliff" – "She's the _earth_ princess" – "Drown her" – "I think she can swim" – "throw shurikans at a cougar and throw her into its enraged path" -" …that could work."

"Would you two stop it?!" Kakashi reprimands them. "You're supposed to protect the princess."

"Supposed to," they say simultaneously. Jenna grins evilly and Gaara blushes slightly. Acting on Kakashi's recommendation, Jenna runs up to Cathy and tries to calm her down to no avail.

"That ugly slut." Cathy hisses.

"Cathy! For shame. She's a stranger here and is scared and alone. We should be nice to her even if she is a pompous dirtbag." Jenna admonishes her friend.

Sasuke overhears the topic of their conversation and decides to drop in. "Heard you and Gaara are planning to knock off the princess. I want in."

Cathy glares at an abashed Jenna. "You were saying?"

"Eheh…o"


	10. Man Overboard!

They eventually reach the dock and awaiting them is a medium sized steamboat, the typical transportation unit. Everything looks safe until they speak to the captain.

"Hi, we're the escort party," begins Kakashi.

"Oh, you're those ninja people. Well, come right aboard. Everything's ready to go," replies the captain. This would have been a good thing…if he wasn't talking to a tree instead of Kakashi.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Gaara asks Kakashi as the others hop on board and begin exploring the ship. The Earth Kingdom Secret Service a.k.a the EKSS are watching their charge most carefully. Luckily the princess doesn't see them or she'd mock their bush disguises.

"Wow," Cathy is gazing out over the dark turquoise waves in eager anticipation for their journey. Naruto comes over and leans on the railing with her, "I _love_ the ocean. I always have."

"Yeah, it is beautiful, just like your eyes."

"What?" Cathy blushes at his unsolicited praise. They are facing each other. He was looking into her eyes as she was at his. Their faces moved closer together until the scenic moment is shattered by a shrill demanding voice.

"Oh, Naruto-kun!"

After realizing what they were about to do they both blushed. But the blush was soon gone when Cathy knew what was happening.

"Naruto-_kun_?" Cathy recognizes the Japanese ending that denotes familiarity and her veins pop in rage.

Naruto turns and greets the princess with a smile and a small tint of blush left on his face. "Yes?"

"Naruto-kun, you promised to spend time with _me_! _Alone_."

"Alone!?" Cathy is enraged by the princess intruding on her time with Naruto and demanding that he abandon Cathy for her.

"Oh! Porpoises!" the princess rushes to the rail in childish delight. Cathy can't tell if it's an act put on for Naruto or genuine. Either way, she can't see them very well and, looking around for something to provide her with a better view, spies Cathy. "You! Puny girl! You have water powers; raise it so I can pet it!"

Cathy snaps. "PUNY?! That's it!" She raises her fist threatening to give the princess a knuckle sandwich. An EKSS soldier jumps out from behind a crate to defend his liege. The wooden board he's carrying smacks Cathy in the head. She sees a bright flash and then darkness. She isn't aware that she has fallen over the railing and into the sea she adores.

"CATHY!!" screams Naruto. Sasuke hears his cry and jumps into the choppy waters to save Cathy who's sinking fast. As Naruto struggles out of his jacket, Sasuke swims towards the unconscious girl. He grabs her and tries to pull her to the surface but is dragged down by her weight.

"NO! I _won't_ let her die!" Sasuke gasps and swallows a mouthful of the briny water. His ability to tread water is fading fast.

Jenna rushes to the railing and yells, "ASCENUS AMICI!" Cathy and Sasuke are levitated above the sea and back to the ship. Sasuke lands on deck, breathing hevily, with an unconcious Cathy in his arms. The moment they are safe on deck Jenna turns on the princess. "If you ever hurt my friends again, you're _dead_!"

The princess turns up her nose. "Shut up, filth."

Kakashi comes to Jenna's aid. "Listen… your highness," he says. The title is added like he forgot it for a minute and his voice is dangerous. "If you injure any of my students again, with no regards to their safety, we WILL abandon you."

She blatantly ignores his rather charitable warning. "Whatever. C'mon, Naruto-kun, let's go."

"No. I'm staying with Cathy until she wakes."

The princess, shocked by his refusal, storms away. Naruto lifts Cathy gently off the hard wooden deck and takes her to her cabin. Sasuke goes into his room to change knowing that Cathy is safe for the time being. Jenna goes to run after the princess, what she's going to do to her, she isn't sure yet, but a hand on her shoulder spins her around to face Gaara.

"Let me go," she demands, standing up to her full height of five foot one.

"No."

"Let me go so I can go kick that dog's butt!" Jenna demands one more time.

"No," is her answer once again.

Sick of playing around while some serious butt-kicking could be going on, Jenna gets within an inch of Gaara's face to hiss, "You saw her! She cheap-shotted Cathy, who nearly drowned. Cathy might be on the Leaf village team but she's still my friend and I intend to even the scales here!"

Gaara confronts her gaze, jade green eyes to brown. "You can't. We swore to protect her. It's our job." Some of his anger creeps out onto his face. "You aren't the only one she insulted. And although she is a dog, we are bound to protect her."

"Bound?" Jenna scoffs. "I am not bound by any oath of loyalty to anyone. 'I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.'" The two stand there for a few more intense seconds before Jenna stalks away. Gaara exhales and discovers that he was holding his breath the entire time.


	11. Pepper Spray and an Ipod

Later...

Night has fallen over the horizon, transforming the sea into a never-ending pool of dark goo. The ship is shrouded in shadows; even the crates seem to move in the dim lighting. They are truly out at sea; the waves are getting rougher. Kakashi is out on deck for some fresh air and sees Jenna leaning on the railing. Assuming she is seasick, he puts a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. But Jenna is not seasick, just deep in thought. The sudden touch makes her whip around and she sprays something in Kakashi's face. He starts yelling in pain. The commotion wakes Cathy up and brings Naruto and her running.

"What did you do to Kakashi sensei?!" Naruto watches his sensei running around trying desperately to get whatever it is off.

"I...uh...pepper sprayed him," she said obviously sorry for what she had accidentally did.

"You pepper sprayed him?!" What's wrong with you?!" Cathy gestures to Kakashi who is in horrible burning pain.

"He put a hand on my shoulder and was in the shadows! It was reflexive!" Jenna feels really bad about the whole thing but can't help defending herself. Meanwhile, Naruto is examining the bottle that Jenna dropped and accidentally sprays himself. He joins Kakashi in the yelling and running around. All the noise attracts Gaara who stares at the bizarre scene.

"Now I get to spray him," Cathy wants revenge for her friends.

"I don't think that's a good idea. He'll probably lash back at you."

"You have a point there."

"What is going on?!"

Jenna and Cathy answer him at the same time, "Pepper spray."

Later when the spray has worn off...

"Where did you get that horrible stuff?!" Kakashi inquires. His eye is a blood shot red.

"My Aunt Verna gave it to me," Jenna replies, still somewhat remorseful about the incident.

"So it's from your home?" Gaara asks slowly. _Never-before seen technology! What luck! And judging by how it affected Kakashi, it must be pretty powerful._

Jenna nods.

"What else do you have?" Cathy knows Jenna keeps a variety of odd but useful objects in her pockets at all times. Jenna empties her pockets. She has her iPod, a wad of Kleenex, a Latin dictionary, a chapstick, a mini flashlight, a butane lighter, and the keys to the family car.

Cathy is amazed by the amount of crap Jenna had in her rather small jean pockets and doesn't mind telling her that. "How on earth did you fit all that into your pockets?"

"You're looking at the National Tetras Champion."

Gaara pokes the iPod, and then picks it up gingerly. "Is this another weapon?"

"No, stupid," Jenna answers. Gaara doesn't like being called stupid and frowns. "It's for music."

Naruto snatches it out of her hands and presses the select button. "Why isn't it working?"

"I programmed a code to keep my brothers out. Wait until I remove it."

While Jenna fiddles with the musical device, Cathy fishes around in her own pockets and pulls out her iPod. "Here, Naruto."

"Awesome! Hey this song is really good."

"What song is it?" Jenna asks Cathy who is watching Naruto nod his head to the beat.

"It's his theme song."

Jenna grins. "How appropriate."

Kakashi sighs, hating to be a wet blanket. "It's late so all of you get to bed." He ignores the death ray of Gaara's glare. "Your quarters are to the left. The princess is staying with you." He addresses the girls.

"Lucky us." Cathy doesn't bother to mutter.

"Why do you always have a comeback?" Kakashi inquires irritated.

"'Cause it's my style." Cathy shoots back.

In their tiny room, the two sets of bunk beds on the walls take up most of the space; Jenna and Cathy raise the volume on their iPods to block out the princess who is yapping away while writing in her diary. "Dear Diary, today I met a various collection of low-lives. Rude, ugly, and with terrible fashion senses, they are typical commoners." Jenna recalls the mean comments and how the scales aren't _quite_ even. She catches Cathy's attention with a jerk of her head.

"Give me your ipod and get ready to dance," she instructs her. Cathy perks up and takes out her headphones in each ear and watches with growing interest as Jenna pulls out her adaptor. The princess glances at the bushy haired girl and sees her plug in the iPod. She is puzzled by Jenna's insidious grin as she cranks the volume all the way to maximum.

In the boys' room...

Kakashi is peacefully reading the newest edition of Make out Paradise . Sasuke and Gaara are playing a game of chess while Naruto looks on from the top bunk. They can only hear the soft slap of waves against the boat.

"Shorty had them apple bottom jeans (jeans) Boots with the fur (with the fur)!" The peace of the boat is shattered by the thunderous lyrics of the awesome song. The shock wave of sound knocks Naruto off his bed and the book from Kakashi's hands. Gaara claps his hands over his ears. Sasuke is paralyzed for a second and then stares at the wall that separates them from the girls' room. The bass makes the whole ship vibrate.

"The whole club was lookin at her!" The guys rush out of their room. Kakashi throws open the door to the girls' and is nearly bowled over by the next stanza.

She hit the flo! (she hit the flo!) Next thing you know Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low!

Jenna and Cathy are dancing to the music like there's nothing wrong. Cathy danced like no other. Her moves were sharp and hot, like a professional. Naruto and Sasuke stare at the girl, sweating with the heat of it all. "TURN DOWN THE MUSIC!" Kakashi yells in order to be heard. Cathy waves at Naruto and goes back to her dancing.

Jenna says something like 'Fine' and shut the iPod off. Sasuke and Gaara stare openmouthed at the girls. Cathy smiles, seeing Naruto and Sasuke, especially Naruto, are staring at her. The princess is plastered against the wall like she has been pinned there. Jenna laughs when she spots her.

"We'll need a spatula to scrap Her Moronic Majesty off the wall."

"You're mean," Sasuke stammers in shock, unwilling to believe that the quiet girl could be so violent and loud. Naruto hops next to the motionless princess and pokes her. She slumps over causing Naruto to freak out.

"You killed her!"

Gaara examines her crumpled body. "No, she's just stunned," he reassures Naruto. He is more concerned about the strange antics of his teammate who is still giggling. "I agree with Sasuke; you do have a warped sense of humor."

Cathy breaks in. "If you think she's bad now, you should see her on April Fools' Day."

Jenna smiles at the ancient seeming memory. "Yep. Making your lunch explode was hilarious."

"Ugh! I can't believe you did that!"

"You need to look at the calendar more," Cathy's friend advises her.

Kakashi, slightly shaken by this bizarre and somewhat disturbing exchange, ventures a question. "You like blowing stuff up?"

Jenna shrugs and offers an explanation. "It runs in the family."

Cathy shivers at the recollection. "I've met your brothers. They're nuts! Your whole family is nuts!" She turns to the others. "They all work for the military, making bombs."

"We aren't that violent." Jenna protests.

"Your eighth grade science fair project tested which flamethrower burned the hottest."

"Hey! I won first place that year." Her pride is stung.

"Only 'cause the judges were too scared to give you anything less than a perfect score!" Cathy argues.

While the girls argue, the guys are thinking…

Kakashi- _Now__ I know what's wrong with her. She'll blow the entire ship out of the water!_

Sasuke- _Good God, Gaara has a crazy bomb maker on his team_.

Gaara- _There are __more__ people like her? One is more than I can handle!_

Naruto- _I wonder if she'd teach me to make Sasuke's lunch explode._

Simultaneously their minds reach a disturbing image of a crazed Jenna torching everything in sight with a flamethrower while laughing manically and they all shiver. By now the princess is awake and she is following Jenna warily with her eyes.

"Thank God we reach shore tomorrow. I don't think I could survive another day with you people," she declares.

"Yeah, 'cuz one of us would knock you off." Cathy tosses the retort at the royal. The princess burrows under her blankets and stays there until the boat docks the next morning.


	12. Arrival to the Earth Country

It's a bright sunny day. Last night's storm left two feet of snow on the ground and it sparkles like diamond dust. Everyone is happy to be able to stretch their legs without bumping into a crate. Cathy stares awestruck at the far-off pinkish purple mountains, wondering how she should draw them.

Kakashi is on the lookout for any signs of trouble but nothing catches his eye. That is, until he glances behind him. "Gah!" he blinks rapidly. After seeing so much white, Kakashi is blinded by the princess's crimson dress. "Your Highness, you must not draw attention to yourself. This is an enemy nation's last chance to harm you," he reprimands her.

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Naruto stare at a hole in the ground. "You're going to have to come out of there, you know."

"It's cold out there." Gaara's voice rises from the pit. Jenna walks over, curious, holding a steaming cup. Gaara smells the scent of cinnamon and cloves and peeks out of his hole. She immediately knows what the problem is and a way to fix it. Jenna waves the cup back and forth. Gaara's eyes follow it.

"It's a pity you're down there. I have some nice hot tea." Gaara's hand shoots out, grabs the cup, and retreats back to his hole. Jenna frowns, disappointed that her plan didn't work. _At least I have a plan B._ "Cathy?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you help me please?"

"Sure."

Cathy hops into the hole and tosses Gaara out with her super-strength. He slides face first over the ice and stops at Jenna's feet. He glares at her balefully. "It's cold out here."

Jenna has no sympathy. "You're not suitably dressed. Of course you're cold! Would it kill you to put on a coat?"

Cathy snaps her fingers. "I have just the thing." She pulls Gaara behind a nearby crate. He reappears a few moments later in a poofy ski jacket.

"It's… _pink_." Gaara says absolutely disgusted.

"Yeah, I took it from Sakura. Oh wait! I forgot your hat." Cathy shoves a tasseled hat so ugly it would make a grown man cry onto his head. It is also a violent hot magenta.

"I'm also guessing that's Sakura's as well," said Sasuke with a disgusted look.

"Right you are Sasuke, my friend," she said patting his shoulder.

Naruto comes along and seeing Gaara races over. "Hey, you're one of those funny munchkin actors! Can you sing the Happy Song?"

The reason for the following isn't quite known. Maybe it was the strain of humiliation, maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the coat. But it was most likely Naruto calling him a 'funny munchkin man'. Any of these might be the trigger but anyway the result is the same: Gaara snaps and begins to violently throttle Naruto.

Kakashi strolls over to watch the fun. (Cathy isn't watching. She went to go find a matching pair of mittens.) "Aren't you going to stop them?" Sasuke observes the evil smile on Gaara's face and is somewhat alarmed to see Naruto turn a faint shade of blue.

"Nah, they both need it," Jenna dismisses his concern.

"Oh, really?" Kakashi raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Gaara's too angry and Naruto needs to learn to watch what he says."

"I found the mittens!" Cathy bounds happily into the ninjas' midst. She freezes at the sight that greets her eyes: a horribly intent Gaara and an oxygen deprived Naruto. Jenna starts whistling. "What… are they doing?"

"Uh… burning extra energy?" Jenna goes for a long shot.

"Okaaay, just make sure they don't waste too much energy. We need them both. Oh! And make sure they don't kill each other."

Jenna sighs and pries the two apart. She holds Gaara back while Naruto catches his breath, not an easy task considering that Gaara is a good three inches taller and twenty pounds heavier than she is.

"What…is…the…matter…with….you?!" Naruto gasps.

"Let me go! Let me kill him!" Gaara snarls.

"No." Jenna responds primly. Gaara stops and composes himself so well that if anyone hadn't seen him a moment before they never would have guessed that anything was wrong.

"This is your revenge, hmm?" Jenna can still spot a glimmer of rage in his eyes, not that this stops her from getting in his face.

"yes."


	13. Captured!

"This is your revenge, hmm?" Jenna can still spot a glimmer of rage in his eyes, not that this stops her from getting in his face.

"Yes."

Naruto suddenly remembers where he is and what he's wearing. "Brrr, I'm s-so cold."

"Are you really that cold?" Cathy, concerned but wary, asks.

"I'm freezing!"

"Oh, alright." Taking pity on the orange and black clad ninja, she hugs Naruto. Immediately he turns a pinkish color. A joyful glow fills him. Sasuke looks away.

Cathy releases him. "There. Are you warm now?"

"Yeah," Naruto agrees dreamily. Cathy takes a step in the opposite direction.

"Wait!" She turns around to see Naruto an icy blue with icicles dripping from his nose.

Realizing that this could go on all day, Cathy throws her hands in the air. "You know what? Fine!" She kisses Naruto on the cheek. "There. Now find another way to keep warm."

Naruto is now beet red and the warm glow has transformed into a raging fire so fierce it's melting the snow. Sasuke storms away.

Gaara, not sure why he is doing this, says, "I'm cold too."

"You've got a ski jacket, a hat, and a pair of mittens! You're fine." Jenna shakes her head. Gaara feels disappointed for a reason he can't name. Abruptly, three blurs burst from the ground. The ninjas surround the group.

"Cathy, stay with the princess!" Kakashi instructs.

_DAMN IT!_ Cathy mutters, "Finally! Some action."

The closest ninja chuckles sinisterly. "Heh…Kakashi, it's been awhile."

"Yeah and you haven't changed a bit: you're still ugly." Kakashi taunts.

The white clad ninja growls. "Well you won't look so pretty once we're done with you."

Jenna studies the ninjas. They aren't wearing anything that distinguishes their loyalty. They are dressed in white and brown to blend in with the environment. One appears to have a metal gauntlet on his arm. The only female in the squad is carrying a backpack.

"We are here for the princess and her gaudy trinket."

The princess glances down at her wrist. Her bracelet is there but her lucky charm isn't. "Hey! What gives?"

Her cry is drowned out by the metallic scrap of iron on iron as the claw ninja extends his arm. Cathy steps forward and knocks the hand off direction.

"Stop interfering, girl!" He shouts as he withdraws his appendage.

"Why?" retorts Cathy. "Why shouldn't the princess of her country interfere?"

The ninjas look somewhat shocked. "_You're_ the princess?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?" asked Cathy with a challenging grin on her face.

"Whatever." The female ninja punches Naruto in the chest. He flies into the air and crashes down on a patch of ice. The claw guy shoots his arm and hits Cathy in the stomach. She hits the ground with a barely audible 'augh!'

"Naruto! Cathy! Gyaton Taikano yo Jutsu!" Sasuke breathes fire at her attackers but is half a second late. The claw ninja reels in Cathy like a fish.

"I've got the princess," He shouts to his companions

"Okay, just in time! Our ride's here." A giant aircraft resembling a blimp flies overhead. It reminds Jenna eerily of the Hindenburg. Its bottom brushes the tops of the trees, knocking snow off them. Some of it lands on Naruto. The cold is like a sharp slap in the face, waking Naruto in time for him to see the ninjas hooking the unconscious Cathy up to their craft.

"Cathy!" Sasuke and Naruto yell. Sasuke goes to use his jutsu again but Jenna stops him.

"No, don't! Even a spark could blow up that blimp!"

"Taijou Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Naruto multiplies until there are over a hundred orange and black jumpsuit wearing ninjas. They rapidly form a ladder. The original clambers to the top and seizes Cathy's hand. His touch rouses the dazed Cathy. His face swims in a kaleidoscope before her eyes.

"N...Naruto?"

He grins. "Hold on, Cathy. I've got you!"

"Sorry to break you sweethearts up but we've got a deadline to meet." The ninjas' squad leader sneers at Naruto. The explosive tumbles from his hand to the ladder of Naruto clones. It detonates, turning them all to smoke. The ninja jerks Naruto's hand away from Cathy's. Without support, Naruto falls.

"NARUTO!" Cathy is awake for a moment before the ninja triggers a pressure point on her neck causing her to pass out again. Naruto experiences a brief second of true terror, thinking that Cathy's anguished face would be his last view of this world. An enormous hand of sand catches him ten inches above the hard ground. Gaara helps him to his feet.

"Naruto, what happened? Where's Cathy?" Kakashi was so intent on the ninjas that, assuming they could take care of themselves, he had forgotten his charges briefly.

"Wha?" Naruto shakes his head vigorously. "Damn it! They got away!"

"It's alright. We'll get her back," Kakashi says having noted that Cathy is nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where's Sasuke?" Jenna asks.

"Oh, no way!" Kakashi groans. "Everyone follow that blimp!" _Sasuke, you should know better than to let your feelings cloud your judgment. _

The black haired boy was at that moment dangling from the underside of the blimp, muttering obscenities under his breath. Slowly but steadily, he climbs over to Cathy who is strapped securely in a cargo net. "Gyaton Taik…" Sasuke thinks of Jenna's warning and decides to go a safer route. He pulls out a kunai and begins to saw through her bonds. A few minutes and a variety of swears later, Cathy is free. Sasuke holds her tightly and looks for a very tall tree. The blimp passes over one. Sasuke jumps and crashes through the evergreen's branches. He lands hard but thankfully the tree broke most of their fall.

Sasuke staggers to the lowest branch of the tree where Cathy is slumped over. He retrieves her and places her on his back. _I hope the others find us soon._ He starts walking in the direction of the camp.


	14. Hidden Feelings

"Sasuke? Cathy? Where are you guys?" Naruto's cries reach Sasuke's ears and he yells back. They rush to his approximate location. Kakashi gets there first, closely followed by Naruto and the others.

"Is she alright?" Naruto leans in to examine his sweetheart.

"Yeah, she took a hard fall but she's alright." Sasuke passes Cathy to Kakashi. Naruto glares at him. _Show off._ He smirks when an enraged Jenna storms up to Sasuke, completely prepared to beat him into a bloody pulp if Cathy wasn't okay.

Later...

Cathy opens her eyes. Her world spins and she feels nauseous. Her vision focuses enough for her to connect the whirling colors and shapes with things.

"Wha? Ah!" Cathy yelps in surprise. "Oh, Jenna. It's only you." Cathy isn't going to admit that her concerned friend with her wild mane looked like Bigfoot for a second. A portion of Cathy's memory floats back to her. "Naruto! What? Where?" Cathy frantically searches the campsite, turning her head from side to side. A shooting pain pulses through her temples.

"He's fine. You aren't. Don't make any sudden moves."

"Oh thank God!" Another snippet of memory presents itself to her. "Did I fall?"

"No, Sasuke saved you and then you fell." Jenna's sarcastic tone isn't lost on the mentioned 'hero' who slouches a little lower behind his collar. Cathy slowly gets up, placing a hand on a tree to steady herself.

"I think I'll take a walk." Cathy's powers are activated and her healing rate rises exponentially.

"Ok." Jenna stalks off to scold Sasuke again.

_"Poor Cathy,"_ thinks Jenna, _"knowing how she is a few trees are going to fall."_

Cathy leaves the circle of pines that surround their camp. While walking she thinks about the situation she had just got out of.

"How could I let that low life of a ninja capture me like that? I'm such an idiot! I could've taken him on easily if I wasn't so-"

Her attention is attracted by a snoring snowdrift. She peers over it to find Naruto lying prostrate on the ground. An icicle has formed in the corner of his mouth where he drooled. He rolls over. Cathy thinks he looks like a slightly tacky angel. Now fully recovered, she picks him up gently and gives him a piggyback ride to the fire. Cathy sets him down and his head drops into her lap. Naruto curls up next to her. Cathy blushes. _Oh boy._

"Hey." Sasuke appears out of nowhere. "You okay?"

"Yeah...Thanks for saving me."

Sasuke pretends to ignore her thank you; just like he pretends that his flushed face is the fire's fault. "That was a good plan."

Cathy thinks back. "What was?"

"Saying that you were the princess."

"Oh, I uh… I guess."

"But now it puts you in danger."

"Oh pleeeze." Cathy waves his concern... uh, _comment _away. Sasuke looks her in the eye with an expression that reads: I'm right and you know it. "I'll be fine, really."

"Oh, I know you will be." Sasuke allows a touch of sarcasm to tint his voice.

Cathy raises an irritated eyebrow.

"Look, Naruto's not the only one who cares." Sasuke gestures to his sleeping comrade. "I'll protect you as well." Cathy stares into the hollow black holes that act as his eyes.

"Thank you but…why?"

"It's what teammates are for."

"I thought that's what friends are for."

Sasuke nudges her and smile faintly. "That is for you to decide." He turns, the fire's shadow dancing on his back. "Now go to sleep. You need it."

"Ok. Thanks."

Sasuke glances behind him and smirks.

"Anytime."

Dawn's light creeps across Naruto's face and into his eyes. He squeezes them tightly, sighs, and decides it's time to start a new day. The first thing he sees is a pair of eyelids and a curtain of brownish blonde hair. Cathy's face is less than an inch away from his. Naruto, touched by her concern for him, props her against a tree and covers her with his jacket.

He stretches and begins a fight with imaginary bad guys to prepare for the day. He pretends to be defending Cathy from the evil ninjas, throwing devastating punch and kick combos. His mind begins to drift more and more toward Cathy. The first moment they met, the hugs, the kisses…he blushes at that thought. He glances at her. The snow around her looks like diamonds, reflecting the sun's lavender rays around her. The snowflakes in her hair sparkle, framing her face like stars. Naruto is afraid to breath, scared that he might ruin this perfect picture. _There can't be anything more beautiful than this._

Cathy stirs and yawns. "Good morning, Naruto." She shoots him a gleaming smile. _Okay. Scratch that last thought. __This__ is the most beautiful thing in the world. _


	15. The Guardian Angel and a New Name

Cathy stirs. "Good morning, Naruto." She shoots him a gleaming smile. _Okay. Scratch that last thought. __This__ is the most beautiful thing in the world. _

"Morning." He sets himself down next to her.

Cathy shades her face with her hand against the sun's glare off the ice. She sighs. "Looks like it's gonna be a long day."

"Yeah. Hey, what's the deal with you saying that you're hmmph?"

Cathy claps a hand over his mouth. "Naruto, you don't know if the enemy is watching. Revealing the ruse could endanger the princess!" Naruto's eyes focus on her hand. Cathy removes it, blushing. "And besides, my guardian angel will take care of me."

"What's a guardian angel?" Ever inquisitive Naruto asks.

Cathy flips through the pages of her mind back to religion class. "They're mystical spirits, or whatever angels really are, that God appointed to watch over you and keep you safe."

Naruto ponders something for a second. "Then it's decided!"

Cathy can only say, "What's decided?"

"I'm going to be your guardian angel!" Naruto declares, extremely proud of his new title.

"What?" Cathy is still stunned by his first outburst.

"I'll protect you no matter what!"

"Umm, okay. But why?"

"Because you are nice and cute," he says with his signature grin.

Cathy blushes again. "But I already have a guardian angel."

Naruto pauses in his imaginings of his fighting off entire armies to defend his charge. "WHAT?! WHO IS HE?! I'LL BEAT HIM UP SO BAD HE'LL WISH HE WAS NEVER BORN!"

"Naruto! I'm kidding! I'm glad you're my angel. I know I'll be safe with you protecting me."

"Hallo thar, children!" Kakashi suddenly appears between them and greets them with the accent he picked up from the boat captain. "Time to go!"

Their response: AHHHHHHHH!!!

Once they calm down, the trio start walking back to camp. Jenna waves when they come into view.

"Hey! Where were you last night?"

"By the fire," answers Cathy, puzzled by her friend's tone.

"Uh huh." Jenna folds her arms across her chest like a disapproving mother. Cathy realizes what the tone means.

"AUGH! You're sick!"

Jenna's façade crumbles as she begins to laugh. "Ha ha ha! I'm just kidding."

"So how's Gaara?" Cathy shoots back.

"He keeps scuttling around like a crab, trying to get warm. I swear if his clothes were nonflammable, he'd be sitting in the fire. Anyway, how should I know?"

"Why are you so defensive?"

While the girls talk, the princess approaches Naruto. He turns his back on her. She looks shocked for a second, and then glances at Cathy. If looks could kill, Cathy'd be six feet under.

"Today we will split up. This will draw attention away from the group guarding the princess and decrease the chances of an attack. The enemy won't want to lose the element of surprise." Kakashi addresses the others. "I'll take Her Highness, Gaara goes with Bush, I mean Jenna, and…"

"I'll go with Cappy!" Naruto interjects.

"CAPPY?!?" Cathy exclaims horrified.

Naruto turns to her. "Can I call you that?"

Cathy thinks, _OH DEAR GOD! Why is he giving me a nickname!? It's cute but...but...GAH!!!_ The expression on her face is a bright smile, her answer a cheery 'sure'.

Kakashi rolls his eyes. "Sasuke will be going with you as well. Both of you watch her. She's in more danger because she's the decoy."

"Well DUUH! Of course I'll protect her! It's my duty! I'm her guardian angel." Naruto punches the air.

"What?"

"Nothing," Cathy says quickly.


	16. The Attack of the Bunny

"I'll escort the princess to the nearest safe zone. Gaara and Jenna, leave an easy to follow trail, like a decoy would to confuse the enemy. The rest of you wander around aimlessly with purpose."

"That's an oxymoron." Jenna interjects.

"We don't have time for your smartness, Jenna. Let's go!" Cathy and the boys leap off into the trees as only ninjas can do. Jenna goes to do the same. A hand stops her.

"Oh no, you. We are walking."

"Aw, man."

Half an hour later

Jenna and Gaara are resting in the shadow of a large pine. They are silent but Jenna's brain is not. _What is Cathy doing? Why did she say that? What is the significance of that tacky charm? What the heck am I eating?_ Jenna chews pensively on her unidentifiable chunk of what looks to be jerky. Gaara interrupts her deep thoughts.

"We should get moving."

"Yeah…" Jenna replies absently.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just thinking."

"About flame throwing the enemy?"

"About what Cathy said."

"Her name's Cappy," Gaara corrects her.

"Whatever! _Cappy_ needs to tell me what she knows."

Gaara frowns at Jenna's annoyance. _Hmmm…_

Kakashi is having serious doubts about splitting up and even darker thoughts about the princess who is sitting on his back as he trudges through the ice crusted snow.

"Can't you walk?"

"No! I'm tired and I'm cold!"

"You haven't even walked yet!"

"Shut up!"

_I'm beginning to agree with the Sand ninjas…_

Cathy and crew enter another clearing that could be any of the others they have walked through.

"I'm tired… Are we lost?" Naruto yawns.

"If you're tired, who's gonna protect me?" Cathy glances over her shoulder.

"Who's tired? I'm not! I'll protect you no matter what!" Cathy favors Naruto with a brilliant grin.

Sasuke thinks, _What am I? Chopped liver?_

Just then a cute little bunny hops into their midst. It wiggles its adorable pink nose. Cathy crouches down to pet it. The bunny snaps at her hand with its sharp fangs.

"Ah! Hey…since when do bunnies have fangs?"

Sasuke stares in apprehension at the fuzzy little creature. "They don't."

The bunny begins to grow, fangs sharpening into ivory daggers, its delicate body morphing into the hulk of a Yeti. The only thing that doesn't change is the cotton ball tail.

"Oh my gosh!"

"What the hell?!"

The 'bunny' spits a wad of green goo at Cathy. She picks up a nearby boulder and hurls it at the monster. The two projectiles meet in midair and fall to the ground where the boulder melts away.

"Acid! Just one more reason not to get close. Cathy, I think we're going to need backup." Sasuke doges another lethal gob of bunny spit.

Cathy nods. "Alright!" She says while tugging at her earpiece communicator, "Kakashi! Jenna! Gaara! We've got a problem!"

Kakashi recieving the distress call puts down the princess and asks quickly, "Have they found you!?"

"I wish!" said Cathy avoiding spews of nasty green goo.

"What is it!?" asks Kakashi now worried that a greater threat has arrived.

"It's a rabbit!"

"A rabbit?" asks Kakashi, who couldn't believe they sent a distress signal for a rabbit.

"Kakashi-sensei, it's _huge_! It grew from normal size to a monster! It's spitting green acid goo at us!" said Cathy hiding behind a tree that it melted.

"Alright Gaara and Jenna are on their way. We'll be there soon. Be careful! Those things are hard to kill even for those of Hokage level."

"Oh, well, no worries there!" she yelled into the earpiece while leaping over bushes, "SASUKE! NARUTO! RETREAT!" The ninjas leap off into the forest with the giant bunny never far behind. After a tiring chase, they arrive at a rocky outcropping and skid to a stop on the ice.

"Damn it! What do are we-augh!" The furry behemoth knocks Sasuke into the cliff, causing a mini landslide.

"Sasuke! Are you alright!?" Cathy calls urgently.

"That monster broke my leg." Sasuke faints.

"Sasuke!" Naruto drags him out of the rocks. Cathy runs to the monster, the charm on a string clenched in her outstretched hand.

"HEY YOU BIG STUPID ROUGE! YOU WANT THIS? THEN COME AND TAKE IT!" The once cute creature now howls in answer to her challenge and rushes towards her in a blind rage. _Perfect_. Cathy reaches for her explosive kunais to touch empty air. "My kunais! They're AUGH!"

"CAPPY!" Naruto screams as he watches the creatures fist collide with Cathy's abdomen. The punch sends her hurtling into the cliff. Another landslide buries her in rock and ice. A bloody mist swirls before his eyes and Naruto lets loose a growl that shakes the forest. Overlapping spirals of red and black chakra surround his body.

From a distance, the others spot the evil glow and rush to the battle. "What's happening?" asks the princess.

"Naruto is turning into the nine tailed fox! Stay here Your Highness for your own safety!" Kakashi deposits her in a tree and races to Naruto's aid.

Meanwhile, the chakra spirals are getting more violent, ripping branches off trees and scattering large rocks like grains of sand. Naruto is changing too: his ears and teeth grow pointed, his nails grow sharper, his hair more wild. His lips are pulled back in a terrible grimace. Another intelligence peers out through his eyes. "HOW DARE YOU, LOWEST OF THE LOW! YOU! SO FAR BENEATH MY CONTEMPT THAT YOU HAVE NOT EVEN A NAME! YOU DARE TO TOUCH MY WOMAN! YOU DARE…TOUCH…WHAT'S…MINE!" Naruto's voice grows deeper, raspier, a dark growl. He roars and the trees the others are hiding behind are torn apart. Gaara throws up a shield of sand so the same fate doesn't befall them.

"How are we going to stop him?" Gaara briefly considers, while holding Jenna close to him, releasing the shukaku and quickly dismisses the idea. _That would only multiply our troubles._ Kakashi runs through every jutsu he has ever learned and comes up empty handed. Jenna searching for an incantation, and finding none, spots a shadow creeping towards Naruto.

"Cathy!" She screams again and again, trying to warn her friend of the fool's mission she was attempting. Her cries are drowned out by the shrieking spirals.

Cathy drags herself through the chakra waves. The red energy opens cuts all over her body. Jenna can see sparks of Cathy's blue chakra as they heal. Cathy struggles to stand and lunges for Naruto.


	17. The Reason

Cathy drags herself through the chakra waves. The red energy opens cuts all over her body. Jenna can see sparks of Cathy's blue chakra as they heal. Cathy struggles to stand and lunges for Naruto.

"NARUTO, COME BACK! I'M ALRIGHT! I'M ALRIGHT!!!" She knocks Naruto out of the vortex. The mutated bunny sees its chance as the chakra spirals dissipate. Snarling with rage and as much wounded dignity a hulking rabbit can muster, the monster leaps at the two ninjas. A giant sand hand catches it in midair. It winds up like a pitcher at the mound and hurls the bunny across the mountains like the furry baseball it is.

Naruto, the real Naruto, opens his eyes. "Cappy?"

"Naruto! You're okay!" Naruto interrupts Cathy with a warm hug. Jenna rushes over.

"Cappy, are you…uhh…" Cathy and Naruto stare death glares at a poor bewildered Jenna. Cathy's says: Don't you **dare **call me that name. Naruto's was a bit less intense: Only I can call her that. "Sorry…Cathy, are you alright?"

"She'll be fine…as long as she never does anything like that again." Naruto puts his hands on Cathy's shoulders and looks her in the eye.

"I promise I won't," she says smiling, happy that he was truly back.

"Cathy, we need to talk." Jenna pulls her friend away from the others. "Why did that monster target you?"

"I have no idea."

"You really expect me to believe that a mutated rabbit just happened to attack you? Spill."

"Fine. I took the princess's ugly charm. The monster must have sensed its power."

"Let me see it. God, this thing is hideous." The charm is a one and a half by two inch piece of brown quartz with flecks of mica in it. "So what is it good for?"

"It powers the whole country. Something about reflect and focusing the sun's rays."

"So why'd you take it?"

"The princess might be 'tempted' to give it away if we encounter some 'difficulty'."

"I see your point and I agree. Good job."

"And besides, if I do get captured, which I'm not saying I will, I have a better chance of escaping than the princess who is kept out of danger and will survive."

"But you won't, Cathy!"

"Then...at least the Earth Country will still have a chance if that does happen. Besides, no one can beat Naruto and he's my guardian angel!"

"To hell with the Earth Country! I don't give a crap about her Moronic Majesty. I'd rather have you still around." Jenna remembers Naruto's rage. "But maybe you have a point about Naruto. Anyway, guardian angel?"

"It's a long story."

"Tell me it later. Gaara and I have scout duty, courtesy of Kakashi."

"Have fuuuun."

"oh please."


	18. A Sudden Confession and Attack!

"Oh please." Jenna walks away in a false huff leaving Cathy to giggle.

"Gotcha!" A pair of arms wrapped around Cathy's waist and pulls her up into a pine tree.

"What the!? Oh, Naruto, it's only you. Jeez, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry. It's just a lot of fun, and nothing's gonna happen to you 'cause I'll be there to protect you." Naruto smiles mischievously.

Cathy blushes. "I know that."

Naruto examines her face. "You seem to turn red a lot. Are you sick?"

_He's more clueless than I thought._ "Not really."

"You know, you're the first person…"

_Oh crap! How does he know my true feelings?!_

"…to like me as a best friend!"

_Thank you, God!_ "Really?"

"Yeah! And, Cappy?"

"Yeah?"

"What am I to you?"

Cappy's eyes widened. Her heart started to beat faster. _This is it!_

"Well, Naruto, I..."

Sand grips the two and yanks them as softly as possible to the ground, beating a metal hand to the prize. The ninjas hop down from their hiding spots in the forest.

"Damn. I missed." The ninja retracts his limb.

"That's okay. We brought the big hand this time. FIRE!"

A giant canon rolls into view. It fires a rumble of thunder and a steel fist the size of a boulder. The fist punches empty air as Gaara whisks Cathy and Naruto away again.

"Holy crap!" Cathy exclaims when at least ten trees splinter in half.

"Get behind the sand!" Jenna instructs. She steps out for a second and throws her kunais at the ninjas in the air craft.

"Man, you suck. Now DIE, IMPUDENT FOOL!" the ninja rapidly forms some hand signs and a narwhal made of ice suddenly looms over Jenna. She stands there, gaping, until Gaara's sand snatches her out of the way.

"I thought you were the slightly smarter one!"

"Hey!"

"What the hell was that thing?" Naruto interrupts Jenna and Gaara's 'discussion'.

"I do believe it was a narwhal."

"What the hell's a narwhal?"

"Snow nin!"

Naruto dodges the explosive kunais at Cathy's scream, only to come face to face with the narwhal. It crumbles into powder as Kakashi tackles the snow ninja.


	19. Kidnapped!

Naruto dodges the explosive kunais at Cathy's scream, only to come face to face with the narwhal. It crumbles into powder as Kakashi tackles the snow ninja. Cathy ducks to avoid a punch from one of the ninjas, grabbing his arm as it whistles over her head.

"Buh bye."

"Huh?"

The snow ninja soars into the air, courtesy of Cathy's right hook.

"Gladius glacies!" A scimitar of ice materializes in Jenna's palm. She hacks at the female ninja. The ninja kicks Jenna away, only to be assaulted by Gaara's sand.

"Why don't you come up here and fight me like your foolish friend?" She taunts Gaara, "At least she doesn't scuttle around like a cowardly crab!"

"Gyaton gaikokyuu no jutsu!" Sasuke breathes fire at their opponent, reducing her mechanical wings to cinders. She loses a few feet of altitude before a replacement set of wings pop out.

"How many spare sets do you have?!" Sasuke calls out in frustration.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Sasuke, pay attention!" Kakashi reprimands his student.

"BLIZZARD TORNADO!" one of the ninjas cry out while performing a flurry of hand signs. Frigid air swirls around the battle field. It collects into a towering cyclone of icy wind. The tornado narrowly missed the aircraft.

"They still haven't given up!"

"Scutum!" A transparent barrier forms in front of the group but leaves their left side unprotected. The mechanical arm shoots out one last time. Its metal hand closes firmly around Cathy's ankle.

"What the?" The claw retracts pulling Cathy with it. Naruto sprints after her and jumps trying to catch her hand.

"Cappy!" He screams as she is sucked into the aircraft.

"Naruto, get back here…" Kakashi trails off as Naruto is also sucked into the tornado's howling winds.


	20. A Blast From the Past

"Naruto, get back here…" Kakashi trails off as Naruto is also sucked into the tornado's howling winds.

"Idiot!" Sasuke mutters.

"Cathy!" Jenna screams.

The wind dies down eventually. When it does the blimp is gone and so are the Leaf shinobi.

"Great. Now we have to go back for reinforcements." Kakashi shakes his head.

"We have enough people and we can't afford to lose any time. The longer we take, the greater the chance of…" Sasuke stops speaking at the sight of Jenna's distressed face. Gaara studies her too. _She must be thinking about all the horrible things they're doing to her best friend._ _They'll kill her if they realize that she isn't the princess. _He slips his hand in hers. His touch makes Jenna look up.

"We'll get them back, I promise."

"Thanks."

"Well then. It's settle. Move out!" Kakashi declares.

"Alright!" the younger ninjas reply.

"Uh, Gaara? Why are you holding my hand?"

"No reason."

For the second time in many days, Cathy wakes up to find the world in a merry-go-round state. The first defined object she sees are bars. Iron prison bars. She leans forward and hears a clank. Cathy glances behind her. Heavy duty chains connect her to the wall. She stares across the hall. "Naruto? Oh Naruto…"

He stirs at her voice. "Cappy?"

"Naruto, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just hanging around." Being chained vertically to the ceiling, he wasn't joking. "I'll get us out of here, Cathy. Don't you worry about it."

Cathy doesn't answer. That is because she's focusing on something else: a slug that had crawled up her leg.

Let us explain. You see...(yay flashback!)

_When Cathy was little, her parents took her to the aquarium. While her older sister watched the sharks, Cathy wandered off into the far more interesting mollusk section. After looking at several tanks of worms, she drifted over to the only unoccupied tank. Thinking that she might see pretty rainbow colored fishies, Cathy pressed her face against the glass eagerly. SHOOM. An ugly slug leech thing latches onto the glass and begins making horrible sucking noises. Cathy doesn't touch a window for the next three months. _

These memories were far in the past but they came back as haunting nightmares every once in a while for Cathy. Especially when she touched one of the slimy little scumbags. Naruto peers at her, shocked to see Cathy go as white and stiff as a marble statue.

"Cappy? Cappy, what's wrong!?" Naruto takes a closer look at the slug. It is brown with purple splotches. "Cappy, MOVE! That slug is poisonous!" Naruto watches in horror as the wall behind her squirms._ Oh my god, the whole cell is crawling with them! I have to save her!_

Naruto struggles to free himself. Several unsuccessful tries later, he reexamines the chains. He pulls himself upward and yanks the locking pin out of the chains' base. Naruto lands hard on the stone floor and scurries through the bars meant only to hold adults. The slugs have now spread to cover Cathy's legs and the lower parts of her arms.

Naruto grabs the bars of Cathy's cell and is thrown back by an electrical discharge. _I'm running out of time. If Cappy doesn't get those things off, she'll die! But she's in a total state of shock…that's it!_ He reaches through the bars, grabs Cathy's shoulder, and drags her towards him. Cathy's chains touch the bars. The electrical charge passes through Cathy and Naruto, leaving them both unconscious. It also fries the slugs to how Cathy likes them: burnt, crispy, and DEAD.


	21. Escape from the Castle

Naruto grabs the bars of Cathy's cell and is thrown back by an electrical discharge. _I'm running out of time. If Cappy doesn't get those things off, she'll die! But she's in a total shock state…that's it!_ He reaches through the bars, grabs Cathy's shoulder, and drags her towards him. Cathy's chains touch the bars. The electrical charge passes through Cathy and Naruto, leaving them both unconscious. It also fries the slugs to how Cathy likes them: burnt, crispy, and DEAD.

The guards smell smoke and rush over to the incapacitated prisoners. One fetches a broom while the other unlocks the cell door to check on the "Princess". He leans over Cathy and receives a knuckle sandwich for his troubles. Cathy snatches the keys out of his hands. She manages to unlock her chains before his partner returns. Cathy shakes Naruto gently.

"Are you okay?"

He sits upright and nods. "Yep. Let's go!"

Meanwhile…

Four shadowy figures scuttle from bush to bush. A guard patrol passes by their cover. A quick shuto strike to the back of their necks and they crumple quietly to the ground. The bushes rustle with movement. The patrol gets back up and retraces their steps to the castle door.

Inside the castle...

Naruto and Cathy slide across the icy catwalk. The guards pursuing them crash into the wall. A gleam of chrome catches Cathy's eye.

"Stairs!"

"DUCK!"

"Duck?"

Cathy screams as Naruto tackles her. An explosive kunai streaks overhead, decimating the guards. Only one survives the bomb. A swift round kick form Cathy sends him into la-la land. The ninjas hop to their feet and whirl around to face four patrol guards.

"Wait!" One of them holds up a hand and pulls off his hood.

"Kakashi sensei?!"

"Don't forget the rest of us." Sasuke drawls while the others remove their masks.

"I hate this outfit. It makes me look fat and my hair's all weird now." Jenna's hair explodes when she yanks off her hood.

"No, it doesn't." Gaara mumbles

"Pardon?"

"Nothing."

Sasuke critically examines Cathy for blood, bruises, and scraped knees while Naruto glares at him. "Are you hurt?"

"Nope. Let's get outta here before any more patrols show up."

"Um, where do we go?"

The shinobi glance puzzled at the myriad choice of corridors before them.

"Why don't we split up and meet back here in ten minutes?" Jenna suggests. The others nod and each races down a different corridor.

Cathy takes the one just left of the middle. Two minutes later the brushed steel walls warp and twist, merging with ice. Thirty seconds later the walls are solid bluish ice. Cathy can see her reflection in them. She comes to a dead end. There sitting on a pedestal is a dull purple rock. Cathy steps closer and the floor falls from under her.

"What are you doing here?" Jenna asks Sasuke.

"The corridors must reconnect here." He answers as one by one the others show up.

"Okay then. Where's Cathy?"

Cathy wakes up and thinks, _Am I blind?_ _No, I'm just in a dark room._ She waits for her eyes to adjust to the dark. They don't. _This must be genjutsu! I bet it triggered when I tried to touch the rock._ Cathy makes a flurry of handsigns.

"Kaitsu!"

Nothing happens. _If this isn't genjutsu, then where am I?!_

Nine and a half minutes gone. Naruto spots a purplish light in the shadows of the last hallway. "There she is! Hey, Cappy, over here!"

Sasuke cracks a crooked grin. Naruto runs up to hug her. A thunder clap of violet energy tosses him backwards like a rag doll. Cappy floats above him, engulfed in an aura of the purple light Naruto spotted in the tunnel. Her blank, malicious gaze turns on the orange and black ninja who raises a hand as a feeble shield against her crackling lightening.

"Cappy?"


	22. Cathy's Mind

Sasuke cracks a crooked grin. Naruto runs up to hug her. A thunder clap of violet energy tosses him backwards like a rag doll. Cappy floats above him, engulfed in an aura of the purple light Naruto spotted in the tunnel. Her blank, malicious gaze turns on the orange and black ninja who raises a hand as a feeble shield against her crackling lightening.

"Cappy?"

"Die."

Forks of purple lightening streak across the floor, slamming into Naruto. He screamed as the electrodes cause his muscles to spasm in agony. Jenna leaps to his side and drags him backwards. The violet chakra collects in Cathy's palm.

"Oh crap," Gaara mutters and flings up a sand shield over Jenna. Razors of lavender ice sink into it.

_This isn't good,_ Sasuke thinks. _If she's attacking Jenna, she must be under she mind-altering jutsu. And that same jutsu must be amplifying her powers; I thought her chakra was light blue._

"Sasuke, watch out!" Kakashi shoves him out of the path of a violet blur. A schism rends open the floor as Cathy's blade slices into the rock. Having missed her last target, the shell of Cathy turns towards the nearest possible victim: Gaara. She raised the violet blade above her head and swung it downward in a colorful arc.

------------------

Cathy walked along the corridor for what seemed to be hours.

"HELLO?! ANYBODY THERE?" her shouts echo off the walls and come snaking back to taunt her with their façade of desperation. Suddenly a glimmer of light shines out, piercing the absolute darkness. Cathy runs toward it making an inch of progress with every ten steps.

------------------

_Ching._ The two swords collide in midair, violet and dark purple. Jenna grins at Cathy. 'You forgot, my friend, that I was on the fencing team." Jenna goes on the offensive, thrusting and parrying Cathy's blows. The others stare in astonishment at the two girls.

"Sasuke and Kakashi, go down the path Cathy came from. Maybe you can reverse this." Jenna dips and swerves, avoiding the violet sword while blocked with her dark purple sword as she gives them their instructions. They nod and race down the hall. Gaara tosses handfuls of sand that wrap around Cathy's limbs. Jenna disarms her. Cathy steps back and creates a new weapon.

Gaara sighs. "This is going to be a long battle."

-------------------

Cathy eventually reaches the light and stumbles over an edge into a room carved from ice. She shakes herself and gasps. In front of her is…herself entombed in a block of ice. After a minute or so, she taps the ice, then punches it. A few shards of ice flake off the prison.


	23. Breaking the Ice

Cathy eventually reaches the light and stumbles over an edge into a room carved from ice. She shakes herself and gasps. In front of her is…herself entombed in a block of ice. After a minute or so, she taps the ice, then punches it. A few shards of ice flake off the prison.

"What's going on?" she asks herself as she punches the ice again having the same effect; barely any ice cracks.

"If I keep doing this I might just be able to..." Cathy lingers as she sees more ice form over and seal the cracks she had just made.

"Oh, come on!" she yells aggrivated as she repeatedly punches and kicks the ice encasing what seemed to be herself.

--

"Sasuke!" yelled Kakashi to his student, "We're going to find out where Cathy went before, it could be the reason she's acting this way."

"Okay," said Sasuke as they left the room before yelling back, "We're going to find out where Cathy went before-hand! We'll be back!"

"Fine! Just hurry up! We need all the help we can get," yelled Gaara to Sasuke.

"What are you talking about!?" yelled Jenna to Gaara, "I can handle her!" she finished as she back flipped onto a ledge as Cathy floated and crushed to rock with her over powering blade just after Jenna leaped off it to clash with Cathy's sword once again.

"Bwahahahaha! On guard!" yelled Jenna, apparently amused by the fight.

Gaara sweat dropped at the two, especially Jenna, "It's like they're not fighting to the death at all..."

--

Cathy breathed heavily as she looked upon the huge chunk of ice that encased what appeared to be herself. It looked exactly the same as when she first appeared there, even after all the punching, kicking, heat-butting, thrashing, and water manipulating she had done to it.

"I...it's no...use," she breathed.

Suddenly she felt a thrashing pain in her heart, "Ah!" she gasped as she fell to the icy floor clutching her chest where her heart was. It was so painful, like a hand, made of knives, was piercing and grasping her heart. She slowly looked up to see a dark violet piece of ice was slowly piercing her chest where her heart was inside of the ice.

"No...way," she gasped as she crawled toward the huge piece of ice once again.

"I...I've got to...break this ice or...I'll..." she breathed as she took her kunai and painfully started to thrash at the ice once again, hoping to save herself from a horrible fate.

--

"Sasuke, do you see any sign of where she went?" asked Kakashi into his earpiece.

"No, she went down this way but it just leads to a dead end," said Sasuke looking at his surroundings for any clue or sign that lead to Cathy's behavior.

"Alright, let's head back. I just recieved word that they need help," said Kakashi as he headed back to the battle.

"Roger," said Sasuke leaving the dead end.

As he ran Sasuke thought of possible ways to get Cathy out of her trance-like state.

_"There's got to be some way to stop it! She could be in a mind control jutsu or a genjutsu,"_ he thought as he ran faster until he appeared back in the midst of the battle.

"HYAA!" yelled Naruto as he lept into the air hoping to kick Cathy out of Jenna's way. Cathy didn't even look at the poor ninja as she grabbed his ankle and threw him across the room like a rag doll. He landed on his feet next to Gaara and watched the two kunoichi clash their swords.

"Naruto, Gaara, stay out of this!" said Jenna quickly glancing at the two boys, "This is _**my**_ fight!"

Gaara watched as Jenna perfectly set herself against Cathy in the clashing of the swords. Her form was perfect in every way when she dodged the sword. She was the head of the fencing team after all and she couldn't lose to the snob of a girl who called herself the "secondary captain."

Gaara blushed slightly, "Wow...she is strong."

Sasuke and Kakashi then returned to the battle. As Sasuke ran to aid Jenna he was stopped by Gaara's sand.

"What are you-" started Sasuke.

"This is Jenna's fight," said Gaara with a serious look on his face.

Sasuke stared in disbelief. _Jenna's_ fight? With _Cathy_? But soon after he saw the two fighting he soon realized, like Gaara, just how strong Jenna was.

Cathy slashed at Jenna, missing with every attempt. Jenna glided with ease along the ice, as if ice skating on air, while blocking all of Cathy's attempts to pierce the girl.

Then Jenna struck at Cathy's sword, causing it to fly and pirce the wall, and knocking down Cathy on the icy and cold floor. Jenna pointed her sword at Cathy's neck. She breathed heavily as Cathy looked up at her with the same, black and emotionless eyes, showing no sign of exhaustion. Jenna looked upon her friend and smiled.

"I win."

Cathy still held the expression for a few more seconds until her eyes widened. She clutched her chest and began yelling in pain. The room grew dark and she glowed a dangerous violet color. Little sparks flew from her chest, electrocuting the area.

Jenna backed away and watched as her friend writhed on the ground, still clutching the area where her heart was.

"What's happening!?" yelled Naruto.

Jenna examined more closely at her friend. Her eyes widened when she sensed a dark energy was forming around her friend's heart.

"A...a dark form of chakra is literally being wrapped around her heart. It's piercing and tearing her heart!" yelled Jenna to her team, tears leaking from her eyes.

"CAPPY!" yelled Naruto as he neared to poor girl.

"Wait! Naruto!" yelled Kakashi as he ran to stop the boy. Cathy saw them both and held out one hand and electrocuted them. Violet bolts of lightning pierced throughout their entire bodies and were then thrown into the wall, both unconcious.

"Kakashi, Naruto! Speak to me, guys!" said Gaara as he ran to them both.

"Cathy! Oh god, Cathy, " said Jenna, tears still falling from her eyes as she tried to find a way to help her dying friend but found no avail. She gasped as she saw Sasuke kneeling down towards Cathy.

"Sasuke, be careful!" yelled Jenna.


	24. Home

Sasuke looked upon the girl who was yelling and who was in so much pain. He touched her arm, being shocked in the process but quickly brushed off the pain. He picked her up slowly and held her in his arms while slowly being electrocuted in the process.

"Cathy..."

"AHHHHH!!" yelled Cathy even louder, apparently the pain was growinfg immensely.

"Cathy...you've got to fight it!" yelled Sasuke as he held her even tighter, "You've got to be strong, like all those other times! You've got survive! It's okay! It'll be alright! I'm here!"

Sasuke then was shocked to the extent of being fried but didn't give up. There's no way he could give up now! Not when his teammate, his friend...

His lover...

Could die at any second! He then found a way to save his friend.

"It's alright now because I'm here! I'll protect you! BECAUSE I'M YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL!"

--

Cathy couldn't stand the pain any longer. She tried so hard not to scream from the pain. She bit dow hard on her lip until it bled lightly. Just like before all her attempts to break the ice failed. She then layed face down on the cold floor.

"I...I guess...this is the end..." she breathed. Tears formed in her eyes and fell the the floor where they froze.

_"Dad...Mom...Sister...Kakashi...Gaara...Sasuke...Jenna..."_

_"Naruto."_

"I'm sorry," she cried softly,"...I'm sorry that I can't say good bye, but...this...this is the end."

As she was ready to die Cathy suddenly heard a voice. A voice that brought courage and strength. A voice that warmed her body against the icy floor.

Cathy's pain soon faded. She looked up and saw that the ice was melting!

_"Cathy...Cathy..."_

"Who is that?" wondered Cathy as she looked up at the bright light.

_"It's alright, I'll protect you because I'm your guardian angel!"_

"Naruto..."

Suddenly Cathy was engulfed into the white light.

--

Sasuke felt all of the electric energy leave his body. He felt no more pain and couldn't hear Cathy screaming because she stopped. He looked down to see Cathy with her eyes closed. She was no longer glowing violet, or sending electric waves throughout the place but something worried Sasuke the most.

Cathy wasn't breathing.

"Cathy!" yelled Sasuke as he shook the girl in his arms. Suddenly she gasped for breath as she continued to breath at a steady rate. She steadily opened her eyes to see who was holding her.

"N...Naruto?"

Sasuke smirked. She was ok.

Jenna soon interrupted the moment by glomping Cathy, and Sasuke in the process, and cried her heart out. Her best friend was alive and back.

Kakashi and Naruto soon woke after. Naruto glomped Cathy and kissed her cheek countless times, resulting in a very red faced Cathy.

Jenna checked to see if Gaara was ok in the result of him hugging her quickly then disregarding it ever happened. Jenna was very happy though because it did.

After infiltrating the rest of the castle the team found the rest of the group trying to take over the Earth Country and defeated them with ease. Cathy then found the device to turn the Earth Country back to normal.

"Well, here goes!" she said as she placed the charm into the device and turned it. They went outside to see lucious green fields and beautiful flowers. Singing brooks flowed down to the rivers and the sky, filled with few floating white clouds, was blue and the sky luminated the still wet land from the snow.

When they returned to camp they all saw the princess holding and laughing with the birds of the country. Surprisingly she wasn't in the same crimson outfit that she had on earlier. She was now wearing a simple green dress with sandals.

"Oh! You all made it back!" she said with a warm smile, "I'm so happy you all are okay!"

They all stared at her in disbelief.

"W-what just happened?" asked Cathy.

"I think I can explain," said Kakashi.

"Please do," said Sasuke who seemed more surprised than usual.

"When we returned the country to it's original state by melting the ice that covered the land, I think we also turned the princess back into her kind self."

"Meaning..." said Naruto.

"When we melted the ice of the land, we also melted the ice that encased the princess' heart," said Kakashi.

"Wow, go us," said Jenna as she and Cathy high fived each other.

--

Later, when they packed and the ship arrived to bring them back to Konoha, the team stood in front of the princess and her people.

"Again, we can't thank you enough for saving our country and myself as well," said the princess.

"Don't mention it," said Cathy placing her hands on her hips and giving the princess a warm smile.

"Yeah, we're shinobi from the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand! It's our job," said Naruto with his classic grin.

"May you all have a safe journey back, " said the princess.

"And may you have a safe future for yourself and your country," said Kakashi as they departed from the Earth Country back home.

--

On the way home on the ship, Sasuke stared out into the distance. He saw the sea and all it's glory. He sighed and helt a warm presence next to him.

"Hey," said Cathy leaning on the side of the boat next to him.

"Hey," said Sasuke looking at her then out towards the sea again.

"...you know," said Cathy, "I'm really lucky."

Sasuke looked at her, "Really? Why do you say that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked him only to recieve a look of confusion on the Uchiha's face, "I'm lucky becuase I have suck great and strong friends, and I'm so thankful for them."

Sasuke blushed a little and looked away, "Oh please."

Cathy smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Sasuke."

"Hey! Cappy! Come carry this heavy crate will ya?" called Naruto, who apparently missed the whoile cenario.

"Yeah, yeah," she sadi as she walked away from the Uchiha.

On that very day, no one saw it but Sasuke Uchiha, _the_ Sasuke Uchiha, smiled. He didn't smirk like normal, he didn't fake one, he didn't lightly grin, but he smiled a genuine and happy smile. If any of the girls back in Konoha saw him smile they would probably be in comas for the rest of their lives which was probably a good thing it happened out at sea where no one could see him.

--

Finally everyone returned to Konoha. They reported to Tsunade and recieved their mission reward, which was a great sum of money which meant more jeans for Jenna!

"I have another mission for you all," said Tsunade with a pleasant look on her face, a look as if she had just recieved free wine.

"Yes Tsunade-sama?" asked Jenna for the group.

"We need you to escort a famous young actor back to his country. Do you think you're up for it?" asked the fifth Hokage with a grin.

"Are we up for it?" asked Naruto.

"We're Konoha and Sand shinobi! Of course we're up for it!" exclaimed Cathy pumping a fist in the air.

"Good! Move out!" ordered the Hokage.

"Right!" exclaimed the team.

As they move Jenna and Cathy looked at each other and smiled.

Their adventures, with their team, have just begun!

--

THE END!!

I'm so sorry everyone for making you wait so long! But good news!

I'M MAKING A SEQUAL! XD!

I'm giving a preview of it soon so just wait a little longer! I promise it won't be long!

Thank you for your reviews and posts! I'm going to post a picture of Jenna and Cathy on very soon. As soon as it's up I'll post where you can find it!

In the sequal new characters and old characters will appear in the story! I can't wait!! XD


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